South Korea

Report: Asia’s Cryptocurrency Landscape the Most Active, Most Populous Region ‘Has an Outsize Role’

28/02/2021 by Idelto Editor

Recently, Messari Crypto Researcher, Mira Christanto published a report that looks into Asia’s cryptocurrency landscape in-depth, as 60% of the world’s population resides in the region. Christanto’s study shows that six out of the top ten largest cryptocurrency unicorns are located in Asia. Moreover, 98% of ethereum-based futures and 94% of bitcoin futures volumes stem from Asia.

Asia’s Financial Landscape Is Ripe for Disruption

When it comes to cryptocurrencies, Asia accounts for a huge number of crypto users, companies, miners, traders, and more. The cryptocurrency and blockchain researcher from messari.io, Mira Christanto, explains that Asia has a “history of dictators, currency depreciation, [and] capital controls – all ripe for disruption.” This has likely led to Asia being the most active cryptocurrency markets, according to Christanto’s recent findings.

Her recently published study called “Asia’s Crypto Landscape” covers the “key exchanges, funds, and market makers that define crypto in China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Southeast Asia, with commentary on regulatory and investment trends.” Countries like China, Japan, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and more are covered in the 98-page study.

“Leading crypto countries, such as China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, have deep pools of liquidity, while other countries have a great potential to scale,” Christanto’s report says. “The nature of traditional finance has played a key role in the adoption of crypto: capital controls pushed investors towards cryptocurrencies in China and South Korea while low-yields pushed adoption in Japan,” she added.

“By the end of 2019, six of the top ten largest crypto firms in the world were located in Asia,” Christanto’s data further shows. “As of January 12, 2021, of the top 20 token projects with headquarters, 42% of the market capitalization is based in Asia. Asia has an outsize role in the crypto markets due to a variety of reasons.”

Christanto’s report continues:

Each country has its own nuances, but factors include high penetration of public market investing, high-technology pedigree, the prevalence of WiFi, deep penetration of e-payments, propensity for gambling, and high percentage of computer- science graduates. Furthermore, Asia’s development as a finance hub has helped contribute to fintech progress. Japan, Shanghai, and Hong Kong are among the top five largest stock markets in the world.

Asia’s Thriving Crypto Landscapes

A few key factoids from Christanto’s study show:

Binance, Huobi, and Okex combined have about the same bitcoin holdings as Coinbase.
Hong Kong is home to some of the largest crypto derivatives companies in the industry.
Japan is a unique market with the largest retail foreign exchange industry, representing a third of total global foreign exchange (FX) and Contract for Differences (CFD) retail volume.
South Korea has the highest penetration of crypto investors with a third of workers invested in crypto.
Singapore is one of the more lax Asian markets for crypto-specific regulations, though strict on AML, KYC, fit-and-proper controllers, and FATF Travel Rule compliance.
The Philippines has one of the largest overseas foreign workers populations in the world, ranking fourth in global remittance recipients.

Asia’s Crypto Landscape findings also indicate that a great number of countries in Asia have thriving landscapes and all for different reasons. For instance, Vietnam’s capital controls “means the crypto spot market operates somewhat in isolation,” Christanto says. Vietnam’s market is retail driven, the report notes and “when bitcoin prices are volatile, the Vietnam market lags by a couple of days.”

In Malaysia Luno is the top exchange in the country as the firm founded in 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa is dominant there alongside Singapore. Christanto and messari.io’s research also saw help from the independent blockchain infrastructure platform Blockdaemon.

Mira Christanto’s messari.io research report on the Asian crypto landscape can be read in its entirety here.

What do you think about Christanto’s 98-page study covering the Asian crypto landscape? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

South Korean PC Gaming Rooms Rely on Crypto Mining to Profit During the Coronavirus Pandemic

25/02/2021 by Idelto Editor

South Korean PC Gaming Rooms Operators Rely on Crypto Mining to Profit During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has significantly hit several entertainment routines of the people worldwide, and South Korea is not an exception. PC gaming rooms had to shut down in the country, but their owners found a way to make profits during the lockdown by participating in crypto mining.

A PC Bang Owner Made Over $3,000 Worth of Ethereum in Two Weeks

According to Chosun, operators of the “PC bangs,” a common term used for the PC gaming rooms in South Korea, leverages their computers to take advantage of the pandemic-driven restrictions.

In fact, owners don’t have certainties on whether or not they can re-open their businesses, and that’s why crypto mining is now an alternative to deal with right now. Some PC bang owners in Seoul are mining ether (ETH) by relying on highly-equipped computers with top-notch graphic cards.

A 34-years-old man named Kim stated that the number of customers reduced significantly due to the pandemic, and his PC bang couldn’t be sustainable with such a situation. He’s now mining ETH with almost 36 computers.

In just two weeks, Kim claimed he earned over 3.5 million won ($3,153), given in the context in the coldest month of the year because of the winter’s peak. PC bang operator praised the current weather conditions, as he saves heating costs by mining cryptos at the same time.

Mining Remains Alive as PC Bang Owners Await a Green Light to Re-Open

Moreover, in South Korea, Chosun states that a PC gaming room’s electricity service is not charged for home use but with regular prices.

But the report states that the crypto mining fever across PC bangs might not last too long, as graphic card prices keep increasing.

However, some of the operators are confident in the current crypto bull-run, as there’s no deadline set to re-open doors for businesses like theirs. Recently, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated that although vaccinations have been slower, the government expects to achieve herd immunity by the autumn.

What do you think about this maneuver made by the PC gaming room owners? Let us know in the comments section below.

South Korean Financial Regulator Confirms Privacy Coin Delistings- Adds New Guidelines to Report Unusual Transactions

22/02/2021 by Idelto Editor

South Korean Financial Regulator Confirms Privacy Coins' Delisting — Adds New Guidelines to Report Unusual Transactions

South Korean financial watchdogs are about to start overseeing crypto-related activities in the nation, and additional barriers for exchanges keep appearing. Moreover, one of the South Korean regulatory bodies codified the measures announced last year on privacy coin listings.

No Major Domestic Exchanges Can List a Privacy-Centric Crypto-Asset

According to Electronic Times, the Financial Services Commission’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) confirmed that all privacy coins would be delisted from the domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.

The watchdog argued that difficulties in determining transaction details carry a high risk of money laundering through such cryptocurrencies.

Although the FIU just confirmed it, the local press first reported the measure in November 2020. The FIU pledged to ban privacy coins such as monero (XMR) and zcash (ZEC).

South Korean platforms such as Okex have since been forced to delist several privacy coins to align with the anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

However, as of press time, no major South Korean crypto exchanges have any privacy-centric cryptos listed. The Financial Intelligence Unit is the regulatory body responsible for dealing with AML matters.

Reporting ‘Unusual’ Transactions Within Three Working Days

Also, per Yonhap Times, the unit will ask domestic exchanges to flag and report any unusual transactions on their platforms “within three working days.” According to the FIU guidelines, the reports should specify the transaction’s values in fiat Korean won (KRW).

The regulatory body expects policy exchanges through a protection management system, which will gather information such as banking data and social security numbers. In fact, the unit wants that banks are also responsible for making exchanges compliant with AML rules.

The South Korean crypto bill will become effective in March 2021, after clearing a series of delays and discussions on who should oversee all the crypto industry from a legal perspective.

Also, the coronavirus pandemic halted discussions, as other bills were granted a significant priority on the pipeline.

What do you think about this news ahead of the South Korean crypto bill deadline? Let us know in the comments section below.

Token-Driven Karaoke Platform Gets a Boost in South Korea as Pandemic Hits Over 2,100 Singing Rooms

18/02/2021 by Idelto Editor

Coronavirus-driven lockdowns and social distancing limits affect people’s way of entertaining themselves, such as going to karaoke. In South Korea, that activity is too popular, and despite the COVID-19 outbreak, the crypto industry is trying to capitalize on it.

Somesing: A Blockchain-Based Karaoke App

Per Fn News, Somesing, a blockchain-based karaoke app, already hit the 400,000 users’ milestone. The figure is significant, considering that it’s doubling the user base (195,000) for the last six months.

Karaoke’s hobby is like the norm in several Asian countries, and the coronavirus pandemic knocked down this sector heavily.

In fact, according to figures published by local media, at least 2,137 “noraebang” businesses had to shut down across South Korea since the outbreak started. The number is the lowest level ever recorded, stated the Shopping Center Information Research Institute.

“Noraebang” is the Korean name given to private singing rooms, translated into Western countries’ language as karaoke places. South Koreans have the habit of going with friends and even workmates after finishing their duties to sing in the noraebangs.

Somesing’s platform allows people to sing along to their favorite tunes and upload them on the app. Moreover, the app rewards active users with tokens from other users or friends according to their popularity.

However, one-half of the coins will fund the platform, such as paying for maintenance costs and copyright fees, said the company behind the blockchain app. The popularity of Somesing has been on the rise across South Korea, as it has been featured on major TV channels.

South Korean Entertainment Sector Relying on Tokenization Solutions

Other entertainment sectors have also been struggling with their businesses. Still, tokenization has been offering an alternative during these times.

Fn News highlighted a travel-based blockchain platform that doubled its user base in the last three months.

Milk relies on a token that can be used to acquire books, and people can exchange it for vouchers in e-commerce outlets such as Shinsaegae.

In the cinema industry, Moviebloc is another blockchain-powered service that offers South Korean filmmakers an alternative to showcase their work. Platform’s users can earn tokens by writing reviews and rating films, whose coins can be exchanged in domestic crypto exchanges.

What do you think about this karaoke tokenization idea in South Korea? Let us know in the comments section below.

South Korean Court Orders Bithumb to Compensate Users for an Accidental BTC Withdrawal Case in 2018

13/02/2021 by Idelto Editor

A South Korean court ordered one of the biggest domestic crypto exchanges to compensate victims of an “accidental withdrawal” incident in 2018. Bithumb has been ordered to pay customers who withdrew their bitcoin funds to an unknown wallet.

Funds Ended Up in a Wallet With an Unknown Owner

According to Fn News, six Bithumb customers brought the case before the 15th Division of the Civil Agreement of the Seoul Central District Court. They alleged that the exchange provided them with misinformation regarding withdrawing funds in November 2018.

Due to the alleged chain of errors, users sent the bitcoin (BTC) to an unknown wallet. Victims wanted to transfer their cryptos from the Bithumb wallet to a third-party one through a function offered by the exchange.

But per Judge Min Seong-cheol, the operation went wrong, as Bithumb’s system didn’t transfer the funds to the third-party wallet. In reality, their funds ended in a wallet whose owner’s identity is still unknown, according to the Seoul court.

Victims alleged that Bithumb’s customer service told them the exchange did nothing wrong, although the company was well aware that there has been a mistake.

The case gathered popularity across the country thanks to a video posted on Youtube. South Korean IT community rapidly made the video viral because of the faults spotted on the video published by the victims.

Victims Compensation Sparks Controversy

Judge Min commented during the trial:

It is difficult to say that the defendant has fulfilled its precautionary obligations under the paid lease contract, such as not fulfilling the duty to verify the identity of the withdrawal address requested by the plaintiffs and the withdrawal address transmitted to the defendant server.

Initially, victims sought $1 million in compensation, but the judge determined to compensate at the bitcoin rate on the date the incident happened ($4,550 – $4,650 approx). This decision created controversy amongst the victims, taking into consideration the current bitcoin prices nowadays.

As of press time, Bithumb hasn’t issued a public comment about the court’s decision.

What do you think about the court’s decision? Let us know in the comments section below.