South Korea’s biggest telecom company, KT, just announced the launch of a local blockchain-based currency for one of the country’s largest cities, which will reportedly go live on Dec. 30. Local news outlet dongA reported on Dec. 19: “Dongbaekjeon is a blockchain-based card-type local currency issued by Busan City to revitalize Busan's local economy and ease the management burden of small business.” The media outlet listed multiple ways to access the currency, including a Dongbaekjeon mobile app, a bank named Hana and Busan Bank. The article also noted participants can use the “currency at any store in Busan with a …

Seoul-based co-working space operator SparkPlus has partnered with blockchain funding platform Kasa Korea, according to a Dec. 17 report from The Investor. The partnership will aim to innovate the city’s sharing economy by means of a decentralized platform that reduces the barriers to entering the real estate market by promoting collective and indirect fundraising. Tokenizing real estate According to the report, SparkPlus plans to open co-working centers at properties listed on Kasa Korea’s blockchain platform. The latter’s platform has been designed for the tokenization of real estate beneficiary securities in the form of issuing digital asset-backed securities that have real …

The South Korean government plans to tax capital gains on cryptocurrency transactions. A Dec. 9 report from The Korea Times reveals that a revised bill to introduce the measure will be drawn up by the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance by the first half of 2020. In parallel, the Korean National Assembly is in the process of advancing a related bill aimed at increasing transparency in cryptocurrency trading. If passed, the new regulations would come into effect one year after the Assembly’s plenary session. While the government’s capital gains bill will reportedly go ahead regardless of related legislation, The …

South Korea’s largest telecoms provider, KT Corporation, is boosting a partnership with China Mobile targeting blockchain technology and 5G roaming. As local English-language news outlet The Korea Herald reported on Dec. 5, KT is preparing to debut 5G roaming capabilities in China later this month. KT Corp. eyes B.Link blockchain rollout At the same time, the companies are working on a blockchain system which will allow them to save time and costs when computing roaming charges for mobile users. According to The Korea Herald, the B.Link system is able to “self-analyze roaming data from the two carriers and can process …

The South Korean-based firm Bloom Technology announced that they have created a new technology that is able to speed up transactions on the blockchain. On Dec. 3, United Press International reported that Bloom Technology’s CEO, Lee Sang-yoon, said that the company's Locus Chain technology has been able to reduce blockchain transaction processing times to fractions of a second. One single blockchain transaction takes less than 0.23 seconds The company reportedly conducted a public test with 635 participating nodes to reveal the transaction speed of the Locus Chain technology. The results showed that a single blockchain transaction took between 0.13-0.23 seconds. …

One of the addresses involved in last week’s theft from South Korean crypto exchange Upbit is moving millions of dollars worth of stolen Ether (ETH) to an unknown wallet. As Whale Alert — a service dedicated to tracking major cryptocurrency transactions — has flagged today, Dec. 3, a 10,000 ETH (~$1.5 million) transaction occurred at 7:52 a.m. (UTC). The transaction was preceded by a smaller transfer — of 1,001 ETH, worth roughly $150,000 — five minutes earlier, from the same address. As of the time of writing, the transactions continue — with another 10,000 ETH transfer just confirmed. A total …

On Nov. 27, major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit announced that 342,000 Ether (ETH), accounting for roughly $50 million, were stolen from its hot wallet earlier that day. Details remain vague, and some users are suggesting an inside job, although experts are skeptical of the theory after analyzing the incident. The platform’s operator has promised to compensate all stolen funds shortly. UpBit is the second “Big Four” exchange in the country to experience a major security breach this year. Upbit brief Upbit is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea (alongside Korbit, Bithumb and Coinone) and the only …

Yeo Min-soo, the CEO of South Korean internet giant Kakao, said that his firm’s Klaytn blockchain is similar to Facebook’s Libra except it is way ahead in its development. According to the Korea Herald on Nov. 28, Min-soo lauded Klatyn’s development during the first Klaytn Governance Council Summit held in Seoul: “Facebook’s Libra launched last month with aims to recruit 100 partners. Libra is taking a similar approach to ours, but it has yet to experience the milestones we have crossed. [...] Next year, Klaytn will become Asia’s biggest blockchain consortium.” The Klaytn platform, which is developed by Kakao’s blockchain …

Following the theft of 342,000 Ether (ETH) ($50 million) from major South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, some commentators have suggested that the hack was actually an inside job. As Cointelegraph contributor Joseph Young tweeted on Nov. 27: “The ‘hacker’ timed when UPbit was making crypto transfers to its cold wallet (other alts like TRON, etc.). Hence, I think the probability of it being an inside job is higher than external breach.” Hacker’s timing was advantageous As Cointelegraph reported, the incident was confirmed in an official statement published earlier today, which read: “At 1:06 PM on November 27, 2019, 342,000 ETH …

Major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange — run by a subsidiary of Korean tech giant Kakao — has notified users of the theft of 342,000 Ether (ETH) from its hot wallet. The incident was confirmed in an official statement written by Lee Seok-woo, the CEO of Upbit’s operator, Dunamu, on Nov. 27. Upbit will use corporate funds to protect user assets In his statement, Lee Seok-woo revealed that: “At 1:06 PM on November 27, 2019, 342,000 ETH (approximately 58 billion won) were transferred from the Upbeat Ethereum Hot Wallet to an unknown wallet. Unknown wallet address is 0xa09871AEadF4994Ca12f5c0b6056BBd1d343c029.” Apologizing to users …

South Korea’s National Assembly is progressing a bill that will provide a legal basis for cryptocurrencies in the country. The bill categorizes virtual currencies as digital assets and intends to bring regulatory clarity and transparency to crypto markets in South Korea, English-language newspaper Korea JoongAng Daily reports on Nov. 27. According to the report, the bill was passed by the National Assembly’s national policy committee and still needs to be approved by the judiciary committee. If approved, the law would come into force in 2020, the report notes. All crypto businesses will have to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit …

News on crypto and blockchain technology is coming in abundance from China. This became especially true in late October 2019, when the Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerating the use of blockchain technology in the country. President Xi identified dozens of use cases that should be promoted: loans, health care, anti-counterfeiting, charity and food security. Xi emphasized that blockchain development could “China gain an edge in the theoretical, innovative and industrial aspects of this emerging field.” That was the green light the Chinese blockchain startups and ongoing projects needed to further accelerate their development. A few days after the …