- One of South Korea’s banking giants, SEB Hana Bank, has partnered with BitGo Trust Company, a cryptocurrency custody firm.
- Hana Bank and BiTgo Bank to launch their joint crypto custody venture in the second half of 2024.
South Korea’s Financial Giant, Hana Bank, Partners with BitGo Trust Company
On September 5th, SEB Hana Bank and BitGo Trust Company announced their strategic partnership to establish digital asset custody in South Korea jointly.
The announcement was made at the Korea Blockchain Week held at Shilla Hotel in Jangchung-dong.
SEB Hana is part of South Korea’s top five banking institutions with a net earnings of 3.16 trillion Korean won($2.4 billion) in 2022.
The banking giant has 111 branches, banking assets worth $10 billion, and equity of $490 million.
SEB Hana Bank’s interest in the Web3 space had begun before the partnership with BitGo. In 2022, the bank opened a branch in The Sandbox, a metaverse platform. In July, Hana Bank expressed interest in stablecoins alternative and tokenized tech alongside private banks like Woori Bank. The financial giant launched research into certificates of deposit tokens, a tokenized version of customary notes and deposits.
BitGo Trust Company is a leading digital assets financial services company based in California. It is a qualified custodian company built to store digital assets. The digital asset custodian has amassed clients in over 50 countries. Last month, BitGo secured $100 million in its series C funding, with a valuation of $1.75 billion. Industry-leading venture capital firms like Goldman Sachs, Red Point Ventures, and others backed the asset custodian.
The strategic partnership between the two financial giants is based on security solutions and a possible joint venture.
In tandem with BitGo’s business expansion to South Korea, the partnership between the two financial institutions signifies an interest to venture into South Korea’s digital asset custody industry jointly.
The partnership between Hana Bank and BitGo Trust Company will feature Hana Bank’s expertise in financial service and compliance with BitGo’s security solutions.
“By promoting digital asset custody business together with global partners, we expect to contribute to strengthening trust in the domestic digital asset market and consumer protection,” an executive at Hana Bank said.
BitGo CEO and Co-founder, Mike Belshe, added that the digital asset firm custody firm will ensure transparency and security in the South Korean digital asset industry.
South Korea and the Crypto Industry
Besides Hong Kong, South Korea is another crypto-friendly country. According to a Consensys survey, about 63% of South Koreans know what digital assets are.
The country supports cryptocurrency and welcomes blockchain technology. Several crypto-related regulations have been made to ensure the safety of consumer funds and to fight crypto crime in the country.
One of the mandatory requirements for a digital asset custodian firm in South Korea is establishing a reserve fund filled with 3 billion won ($2.3 million).
Another recently passed regulation mandated South Korean lawmakers to disclose their cryptocurrency assets. South Korea’s crypto-friendly policies have led to the smooth adoption of the crypto industry by traditional financial institutions like Hana Bank.
