Overseas investors are reportedly likely to step in to acquire South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb due to alleged difficulties with payments in its existing acquisition deal. As Cointelegraph reported previously, BK Global Consortium, a firm headed by one of South Korea's leading plastic surgeons, closed a deal in Oct. 2018 to acquire 50% plus one share of BTC Holding Co. — the largest investor in Bithumb’s operator — for 400 billion won ($352 million). However, a fresh report from local news agency Yonhap on Sept. 30 suggests that BK Global is now expected to default on payments for the deal, …

A South Korean court ruled on Sept. 25 that the CoinOne cryptocurrency exchange must reimburse 25 million won ($20,800) to an investor after he was hacked. The attacker used the investor’s personal login and password to steal 45 million won, while a daily withdrawal limit of 20 million won was supposed to be in place. Stolen login details The theft occurred in late December 2018, when the investor’s CoinOne exchange login details were stolen. An attacker, who had hidden their IP address using a VPN in the Netherlands, converted all of the investor's cryptocurrency holdings into Bitcoin (BTC), which was …

Tomorrow, cryptocurrency exchange Upbit Indonesia will list Klay, the cryptocurrency of South Korean instant messaging giant Kakao. South Korean news outlet The Korea Times reported the news on Sept. 25 noting that also UpBit Singapore is also expected to list Klay at a later date. A Kakao official pointed out: “We decided to list Klay on cryptocurrency exchanges in the respective countries, as we aim for Klaytn to become an Asia-based platform.” South Korean messaging giant’s own virtual currency Kakao is South Korea’s largest internet conglomerate, the firm manages mobile applications and has nearly 90 percent dominance in its mobile …

The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) has ruled that cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), are neither financial assets nor legal tender. The Korea Times reported the development on Sept. 23, citing the Korea Accounting Institute’s briefing in regard to an IFRIC meeting held in London this June. Cryptocurrencies neither financial assets nor currencies According to the report, the IFRIC has ruled that cryptocurrencies are "not cash nor an equity instrument of another entity," but rather “intangible assets” — defined as "identifiable non-monetary assets without physical substance." In the IFRIC’s definition, an asset is identifiable if it is separable or arises …

An IT arm of South Korea’s major conglomerate CJ Corp is using Amazon’s blockchain tech to improve music copyright management. CJ Corp implementing Amazon Managed Blockchain CJ OliveNetworks has implemented Amazon Managed Blockchain in its new digital copyright system for recording and tracking music in broadcast content, local news agency Yonhap reported on Sept. 19. Specifically, the firm reportedly deployed Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) file-based video transcoding service Elemental MediaConvert to recognize and extract music content from broadcasting data. Secure data sharing and storage According to the report, the new blockchain-enabled electronic copyright platform intends to bring a higher level …

South Korea's main opposition party, the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), is poised to unveil its policy for cryptocurrencies and crypto exchanges. As Cointelegraph Korea reported on Sept. 19, the LKP’s stance appears to be more radical and pro-innovation than that of the current government, notably in its support for the authorization of tokenized securities. Authorizing security token offerings and asset tokenization The LKP is scheduled to hold a "People's Report Meeting" at the National Assembly building in Seoul, on Sept. 22, where the party will unveil its final "2020 Economic Transformation” plan. The LKP’s Kim Gwang-Lim — a sitting member …

The South Korean arm of cryptocurrency exchange OKEx is removing support for five major altcoins due to new international regulations. FATF rules halt privacy coins trading In a blog post originally published on Sept. 10, OKEx Korea confirmed it would halt trading of Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), Zcash (ZEC), Horizen (ZEN) and Super Bitcoin (SBTC) on Oct. 10. The reason, said the exchange, is that as since they are focused on privacy, the coins fall foul of new guidelines set out by the intergovernmental body the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF. “Support for trading of 5 different cryptocurrencies, XMR, …

Union Mobile, the fourth-largest mobile carrier in South Korea, announced the launch of its blockchain project called ELYNET. Using blockchain to make communication more efficient On Sept. 11, Union Mobile announced that ELYNET aims to use blockchain technology to make telecommunications more efficient for those users who rely on a single carrier for telecom service. ELYNET will purportedly allow users to use data communication services without roaming fees and contracts. Union Mobile's CEO Seyong Ro explained that the platform will launch with an accompanying token, stating: "This will help us to realize our business. When users connect to the communications …

South Korean electronics giant LG is working with blockchain developers to launch a rival to Samsung’s Klaytn blockchain smartphone, sources have said. LG in talks with local developers Speaking to local daily news outlet Chosun on Sept. 8, an industry insider said LG had already held discussions with local decentralized application (DApp) developers and had worked out a use case for its future product. “LG is likely to respond to Samsung's innovation initiative,” he told the publication. The news comes a week after reports Korean messaging service Kakao Corp. was preparing to roll out blockchain capabilities on the Samsung’s forthcoming …

The Spanish-speaking world saw some major developments this week with Spain introducing a reinforced authentication system for payments, Mexico giving fines up to $47,000 for the unauthorized use of crypto and a South Korean blockchain delegation visiting Peru. Here is the past week of crypto and blockchain news in review, as originally reported by Cointelegraph en Español. Mexico fines up to $47,000 for unauthorized use of crypto The Central Bank of Mexico will now impose fines up to $47,000 to those who are using crypto assets without its authorization. The bank believes that the use of crypto assets such as …

Korean pop music giant SM Entertainment revealed plans to build its own cryptocurrency and blockchain in partnership with tech organization CTIA Labs. CT-AI Labs CEO Sang-Sik Joo announced the initiative at the developer conference of South Korean crypto exchange UpBit, local IT news outlet ITChosun reported on Sept. 4. Joo noted that they are currently discussing the project with partners who will build the platform, but the details cannot be revealed yet. SM Entertainment reportedly expects the blockchain platform to bridge the physical and virtual world. Joo commented on the development by defining the function that he sees blockchain having …

South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp. will issue its affiliate cryptocurrency, KLAY, direct to Samsung smartphone users. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) citing people familiar with the plans on Sept. 5, the latest edition of Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 10 will feature a cryptocurrency wallet — and free coins. “KlaytnPhone” will come with free crypto KLAY is the in-house token of Klaytn, the blockchain network Kakao revealed in conjunction with its dedicated spin-off, Ground X, in October last year. Speaking to the WSJ, the sources said each edition of Samsung’s Klaytn edition of the Galaxy Note 10 would …