South Korean financial majors have applied to create virtual assets exchange in 2023

Mirae is looking for technical staff to work on crypto assets while Samsung tries to find a way into the blockchain-based security tokens market

  • Published:
  • 23/08/2022 02:51 PM

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On Wednesday, August 22, Samsung Securities and six other members of the South Korean Financial Investment Association reportedly applied to the government for permission to establish a virtual asset exchange. The companies include Mirae Asset Securities and Shinhan Financial Investment, among other big names. The preliminary approval would allow the companies to set up and operate virtual asset exchanges.


According to an official, "Currently, discussions necessary for the establishment are being finalised." (Translated to English from the original source in Korean)

It is worth noting that Mirae Asset Securities has a subsidiary under its affiliate Mirae Consulting. Mirae is South Korea's largest investment bank by market capitalisation. It has $648 billion in assets under management. It is looking for technical staff to work on various crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Mirae is also reportedly looking to hire technical staff for blockchain-based platform research and development.


Meanwhile, Samsung Securities is researching the way to enter the market for blockchain-based security tokens. It attempted to find enough human resources last year to launch the development and operation of a security token trading platform. The attempt was made by developing blockchain smart contracts.

The Korea Financial Investment Association has 59 members who are securities firms. The seven companies in the discussion may have been motivated by Yoon Seok-yeol's relaxation of crypto regulations. The drive by the securities firms to establish the exchange occurs as the Digital Assets Framework Act is getting ready to be passed. The act will include both security tokens and non-security tokens. It is aimed to clarify which domestic virtual assets fall into which category. It was reported that the group-led exchange is 'seeking not only business models but also independent businesses for each securities company’.

The Financial Services Commission of South Korea intends to establish a more open industry with the Digital Assets Framework Act. Previously, under former President Moon Jae-In, South Korean authorities attempted to regulate the burgeoning crypto sector. Authorities then demanded that exchanges register in a time-consuming process. Even with the new administration, the South Korean Financial Intelligence Unit booked 16 foreign-based crypto exchanges earlier this month. KuCoin, Poloniex, and Phemex were among these exchanges. According to reports, the exchanges were not properly registered. South Korean authorities took a number of measures against them. The actions included requests to have the websites of those exchanges blocked.

The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash