SK Securities, a branch of South Korea's largest telecom SK Group, has partnered with a local blockchain firm for a digital real estate beneficiary platform. The securities operator has signed a business agreement with Kasa Korea, a Seoul-based startup developing a digital securities blockchain platform for thereal estate market, Korean news outlet Yonhap News reported on Sept. 4. SK Securities and Kasa Korea agreed to collaborate on a digital platform for distribution of real estate beneficiary securities. Based on real estate securitized beneficiaries issued by real estate trust companies, Kasa Network’s digital property shares will allow investors to trade pieces …

South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung has filed a patent for a blockchain-enabled solid state drive (SSD). Improving speed and life span Local industry news outlet Decenter reported on Sept. 3 that Samsung applied for the “programmable blockchain solid state drive and switch” patent on Jan. 15, and that it was published on Feb. 2. Details of the newly designed system are sparse, but it will reportedly be used to improve the speed and life span of blockchain-aware storage devices. To achieve this, Samsung intends to use Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). FPGAs are devices which can be placed in …

South Korean internet giant Kakao is reportedly planning to list its cryptocurrency Klay on a Chinese crypto exchange and one local exchange. Kakao might have trouble listing Klay in Korea According to a report by local news daily News1 Korea on Aug. 31, Kakao’s blockchain arm Ground X is in talks with two popular cryptocurrency exchanges for listing its native coin Klay. While News1 Korea does not specify the names of the exchanges, an official familiar with the internal situation at Ground X reportedly said that Kakao might have trouble listing Klay on a South Korean exchange, because Ground X …

North Korea is denying accusations of obtaining $2 billion through hacking banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. North Korea accuses the United States of spreading rumours On Sept. 1, the country’s official state media, the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), denied allegations of massive theft by North Korean agents. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the United Nations Security Council North Korea sanctions committee said that “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea cyber actors were raising money for its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) programs, with total proceeds to date estimated at up to two billion US dollars.” In response, KCNA cited a statement from …

South Korean art-focused blockchain project ArtBloc will conduct a fractionalized ownership sale of two paintings by popular British painter David Hockney. ArtBloc launch commemoration ArtBloc plans to host a special event introducing the blockchain-enabled fractionalized ownership sale of two of David Hockney’s paintings in Seoul on Sept. 19, local outlet KoreaTechDesk reported on Aug. 29. “Hockney Night with ArtBloc” will also function as ArtBloc’s launch party, where art enthusiasts will be able to check out work by Hockney that has reportedly never before been on display in South Korea. Fractionalized artwork ownership is a method of selling possession by dividing …

Following integration with major cryptos, South Korean tech giant Samsung has expanded the coins supported by the Galaxy S10 device with three stablecoins. According to a U.today report on Aug. 30, Samsung’s new flagship smartphone now supports three stablecoins, including TrueUSD (TUSD), Maker (MKR) and USD Coin (USDC). 33 cryptos totally supported Additionally, Samsung Galaxy S10 now reportedly supports Basic Attention Token (BAT), a native token by blockchain-based internet browser Brave that is used to reward users for watching ads. The report notes that the digital wallet on Samsung's new phone now supports 33 digital currencies in total, including Bitcoin …

Cointelegraph is pleased to announce that we are continuing to increase our presence in Asia with the launch of Cointelegraph Korea. Today, Aug. 23, we celebrated the launch of a Korean-language version of Cointelegraph and the opening of our Korean headquarters in Seoul. To commemorate the move, Cointelegraph hosted an event in the city’s financial district, attended by over 150 guests from the finance and blockchain industries. Guests included representatives from banking giants Woori Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group, as well as Busan-based securities operator Korea Exchange. The city of Busan’s vice mayor for economic affairs also gave a …

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb will launch a new committee in September that will determine which cryptocurrencies can be traded on its platform. A monthly check by experts South Korean news daily Yonhap News reported the formation of Bithumb’s new committee on Aug. 22. The committee, entitled the Listing Eligibility Deliberation Committee, will review the exchange’s listings once a month, per the report. The committee will reportedly take into consideration daily trading volume, change in base market capitalization and project support among other factors. Cryptocurrencies that fail to meet the committee’s standards will have two months to improve their status …

South Korean blockchain startup Blockco has secured 9 billion Korean won ($7.5 million) in a recent Series B+ funding round participated by major local banks. Banks continue interest in blockchain Backed by South Korea’s tech giant Samsung, Blockco announced the investment in a blog post on Aug. 22. The funding round involved South Korea’s oldest bank Shinhan Bank and South Korea's largest foreign exchange bank, Korea Exchange Bank, also known as KEB Hana Bank. Additionally, the new investment was also supported by healthcare-focused venture capital firm LB investment and the venture arm of Seoul-based entertainment startup Dadam Game. Blockco backed …

The number of South Korean digital currency projects leaving the country to list their products on foreign exchanges is increasing, experts say. South Korean news outlet Business Korea reported on Aug. 19 that industry experts have noticed a surge in cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused projects seeking to list their early-stage products on overseas platforms. Experts define reasons behind projects’ departure Experts named several key reasons that local projects are leaving, including stricter domestic cryptocurrency exchange market conditions, wherein investors are not able to make or withdraw deposits in the Korean won on Korean exchanges. Another reason named is low transaction volume. …

Coinone Global Exchange (CGEX), a Malta-based crypto exchange launched by major South Korean exchange Coinone, will terminate its service in mid-September. Less than a year in operation According to an announcement on Aug. 12, the exchange will shut down services at 2:00 a.m. UTC on Sept. 18. CGEX initially launched in October 2018. CGEX placed a services termination notice on the main page of its website, adding that it has decided that it can no longer maintain service. CGEX’s services termination notice | Source: CGEX In the notice, CGEX warned its customers that all assets on user accounts should be …

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone has released a set of criteria for determining whether to list new digital currency projects on the exchange. In a blog post published on Aug. 8, Coinone described nine criteria cryptocurrency projects should comply with in order to be listed on the exchange. Coinone will specifically consider such issues as sustainability of business models, transparency of governance, token distribution plan, vision and value, market size, use case, team formation, roadmap achievement rate and marketability. Focus on the South Korean market In detailing the criteria, Coinone stressed that a crypto project should have a South Korean …