Samsung, the South Korea-based global tech giant, could likely be part of a larger plan to launch a bitcoin and crypto exchange in the first half of 2023. A local media report on Aug. 22 reveals that Samsung Securities, a subsidiary of Samsung Futures, is among seven South Korean companies that intend to open a “virtual asset company” under a combined plan by the Korea Financial Investment Association. Mirae Asset Securities, South Korea’s largest investment bank and securities brokerage firm, is also apparently involved and plans to handle various digital assets including Bitcoin, Ether and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The NewsPim media report states that Samsung is also currently conducting studies to determine the best ways to enter the cryptocurrency exchange market after its attempt to develop a crypto trading platform in 2021 failed to succeed. acquire the talent necessary to do so.
Meanwhile, the report points out that Mirae Asset Securities, the largest investment banking and equity brokerage firm in South Korea by market capitalization with $648 billion (about Rs. 51,75,570 crore) of assets under management, plans to create a subsidiary under its Mirae Consulting arm which will be responsible for operating the exchange. The company is also looking to onboard technical staff who will focus on the research and development of Bitcoin and other blockchain-based asset classes like NFTs.
Once fully approved, trading is expected to begin in the first half of 2023.
The NewsPim report does not name any other participants in the group swap effort. The Korea Financial Investment Association has 59 members who are considered securities firms, and any of them could conceivably be implicated.
The rise in institutional interest from South Korean companies comes after the recent election of Yoon Suk-Yeol as the country’s president. During his election campaign, the new president promised to deregulate the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets.
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