The United States, Japan and South Korea are the world’s biggest fans of cryptocurrency exchanges, new research from software firm DataLight reported April 29. After investigating the origin of traders who use well-known exchanges, DataLight — which continues to publish various insights into the industry — said that the U.S. has the highest share of visits, more than triple the next runner up. The firm analyzed monthly visits to 100 platforms, which yielded around 22.2 million from U.S.-based users. Second was Japan with 6.1 million visits, while South Korea had 5.7 million. The United Kingdom and Russia took fourth and …

Samsung is another big-name company to consider issuing its own cryptocurrency. Similar stories have already emanated from the likes of Facebook and JPMorgan Chase, with analysts speculating on various use cases for these cryptocurrency tokens. While not yet confirmed officially, a “Samsung Coin” could find application as a payment means on the company’s app store and traded on cryptocurrency exchanges. The company has revealed that its flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone will have a built-in cryptocurrency wallet. With these mega-corporations delving into the blockchain scene, it is perhaps important to see how their virtual currency implementation compares with each other and …

A blockchain-powered platform that allows content creators to reach its fans directly says it is broadening the choice of music, illustrations and webtoons it has on offer — improving both quality and quantity ahead of its launch. The debut of ContentsDeal has suffered from delays, but the company says its team is determined to get its offering online as soon as possible. Already, the platform says it has attracted an impressive ensemble of artists from South Korea and around the world — giving creatives a way of broadcasting their content to the masses while ensuring their copyright is protected. ContentsDeal …

Two major cryptocurrency exchanges could soon have Walt Disney Corp. as their owner if a $13 billion equity deal goes through, South Korean English-language daily news outlet The Korea Herald reported on April 17. Citing a banking industry source speaking to another publication, JoongAng Ilbo, The Korea Herald revealed the chairman of online gaming giant NXC Corporation, Jung-ju Kim, plans to sell his 98.6% stake in the company. NXC owns 47% of Nexon, South Korea’s largest game developer, which in turn has stakes in South Korean exchange Korbit and European platform Bitstamp through a Belgian subsidiary. According to the source, …

South Korean electronics giant Samsung may end up developing a public-private blockchain complete with its own cryptocurrency token, an anonymous source told crypto industry news outlet CoinDesk Korea on April 24. The project, part of an undertaking by the company’s dedicated blockchain division, would see a blockchain mainnet appear based on Ethereum (ETH), along with a new asset dubbed Samsung Coin. “We expect Samsung Coin to come out in the market, but the direction has not yet been decided,” the source, who is in touch with the plans, told the publication. The news, while not confirmed officially, comes as Samsung …

Blockchain-powered medical data marketplace Longenesis and biotechnology company Insilico Medicine have entered into an agreement with South Korean hospital Gil Medical Center to create a blockchain-based health data management solution. The development was announced in a press release published on April 23. As part of the collaboration, the parties intend to develop a blockchain-powered platform based on Bitfury’s Exonum blockchain framework to increase the efficiency of data collection, boost medical research processes and ensure transparent management of patient consent. Longenesis will reportedly provide a secure ecosystem for Gil Medical Center to upload, store and manage patients’ private data, allowing patients …

South Korea’s largest car manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Group, will use blockchain in its new tech for pairing electric vehicles (EVs) with smartphones. Sustainable mobility-focused news agency Green Car Congress reported on the development on April 22. Hyundai reportedly announced development of smartphone-EV pairing based performance adjustment technology that allows users to customize primary functions via a smartphone application. In the claimed industry-first, Hyundai will reportedly implement blockchain technology to prevent security issues while users upload and share their custom settings on the server. As such, the upcoming system is set to encrypt major performance parameters on a blockchain network by …

Microsoft Korea has claimed the country is facing an increase in cryptojacking incidents, according to a report from local English-language daily The Korea Times, published on April 22. The findings were announced by Microsoft security program manager Kim Gwi-ryun during a press conference in Seoul today, which accompanied the release of the annual Microsoft Security Intelligence Report. As previously reported, cryptojacking is the practice of using a computer’s processing power to mine for cryptocurrencies without the owner’s consent or knowledge. According to The Korea Times, South Korea's cryptocurrency mining incident rate in 2018 was 0.05% — reportedly 58% lower than …

More South Koreans are buying cryptocurrency than ever before and spending more fiat to do so, local daily news network Arirang Daily News reported April 20. Referencing the results of a December 2018 survey from nonprofit organization the Korea Financial Investors Protection Foundation, Arirang revealed 7.4% of the 2,500 adults surveyed said they had bought cryptocurrency. That figure was up 1% on the year before, despite the industry facing hurdles locally in the form of shifting regulation and various exchange hacks. Not only the number of purchasers had changed: out of those who now owned crypto, many were buying more …

The CEO of Singapore-based Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA) — which has a controlling stake in major South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb — has revealed plans to expand to the American and Japanese markets. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on April 18. BXA CEO BK Kim told Cointelegraph Japan in an interview that BXA’s strategy is to pursue a so-called reverse merger route by acquiring a publicly-traded company that is already listed on either Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The route can be a faster way to take a company public than a traditional Initial Public …

In late March, major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb lost around $18 million as a result of a hack. While the details are still sketchy — for instance, it is unclear whether or not it was an inside job, as Bithumb initially claimed — a large portion of the stolen funds have been frozen by various exchanges who received them from hackers attempting to sell the loot. However, despite Bithumb stressing that the hijacked assets belonged to the company and not to its clients, the customers still can’t access their funds, since withdrawals and deposits have been disabled as part …

South Korean crypto exchange Coinnest has begun to terminate its services as of April 16, according to a pop-up announcement on the platform’s official website. Notification of exchange closure. Source: https://www.coinnest.co.kr/. Accessed: April 18, 2019 The announcement states that Coinnest has taken the decision to close as the exchange has struggled to cope with changes in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. The process of shuttering platform services began on Tuesday, April 16, beginning with membership services, and is set to culminate by June 30, when withdrawals of all funds will have been terminated. Coinnest states it has lowered withdrawal fees …