South Korea is known for its relatively high interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. It is one of the most developed places when it comes to cryptocurrencies and therefore, no one can be surprised by recent developments. Two of the major banking giants in the country, Woori and Shinhan, have recently announced that they are planning to offer custodian services to their clients. This means, that 4 out of 5 biggest South Korean banks are currently looking to offer services or products that are related to cryptocurrencies.
The start of mass adoption in South Korea?
Woori and Shinhan are two of the major banks in South Korea and together with Kookmin and Nonghyup banks, these four giants have 1,2 trillion dollars’ worth of assets. Therefore it is really positive for cryptocurrency enthusiast to hear that all of these banks are currently looking into custodian services connected to crypto assets.
The official statements from both banks are not surprising, since the government plans to change the legislature around cryptocurrency investing and trading next year. According to many, the changes are going to be in favour of institutional investors and mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, which is one of the reasons why all of these banks are actively trying to prepare for the alterations in laws. Moreover, one of the proposed laws would allow only licensed entities to operate and provide crypto services for their clients. If prepared cautiously, these big banks would be in huge advantage compared to smaller companies or emerging start-ups.
Furthermore, it is not the first time for Shinhan bank to look at cryptocurrency services. Back in 2017, the bank planned to offer cryptocurrency storage for its clients. This was during the times, when Bitcoin was trading around 23 000 dollars in the country, since huge demand in South Korea comes with really high price mark-up. Eventhough the potential for client acquisition due to new services connected to crypto assets was there, this never came through. Due to lack of legislature and underdeveloped security systems, the plans of the bank were halted.
The optimism about this information was not shared by everyone. There are many blockchain experts in the country, who believe that it is already too late for this type of change. For instance Park Sung-joon, the head of Blockchain Research Centre at Dongguk University believes that American institutions are far ahead of South Korean Banks. Therefore, even this type of changes in legislature might not be helpful, because they are too slow and already too late.
Fungram — development and innovation
When it comes to development and adoption of cryptocurrencies, Fungram can help with both. This new social platform is focused on decentralized social networking, payments, open finance, social e-commerce and much more. It also provides support for other financial services or digital banking, as well as offers DAPP stores and entertaining games.
Therefore, Fungram is not only decentralized social platform that has its goal in helping crypto enthusiasts, it also offers utilizes digital banking solutions in financial world. That is one of the reasons why Fungram has the potential to become value centre of social networking and decentralized finance all in one place.
