On Monday, Crypto.com announced that it had completed the acquisition of payment service provider ‘PnLink Co., Ltd,’ and virtual asset Service provider ‘OK-BIT Co., Ltd.’ By doing so, the crypto platform has mushroomed its presence in the South Korean market and has parallelly secured registrations under the nation’s Electronic Financial Transaction Act, and as a virtual-asset service provider.
In recent news, Crypto.com received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide digital payment token services in June.
Read More: Crypto.com receives approval from Singapore’s financial watchdog
Crypto.com and its South Korean expansion
Commenting on the recent acquisition, Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com, emphasized the importance of the South Korean market. He stated that consumers in the said nation have shown “strong interest and adoption of digital currencies.” He added,
“This is an exciting next step for Crypto.com in an important market.”
Echoing the same stance, Patrick Yoon, General Manager, South Korea of Crypto.com, said
“Korea is a tremendously important market for Crypto.com in advancing blockchain technology.”
The executive further believes that the platform’s services will help further evolve and empower commerce in Korea and support the greater creation and development of the Web3 ecosystem.
Even though the Korean market is rapidly expanding, it should be borne in mind that investors’ belief, to a large extent, has been shaken due to the recent collapse of Seoul-based Terraform Labs. With billions of dollars being wiped out of the ecosystem, the crumble of the Terra ecosystem has been labeled as one of the most painful and devastating chapters in crypto history.
Additionally, Korean authorities are investigating a considerable lump sum of foreign exchange irregularities linked to Kimchi Premium trading. So, with regulatory eyes across the crypto landscape, Korean investor sentiment has been dented.
Nonetheless, Crypto.com’s blog post emphasized that the platform looks forward to building a “direct relationship” with Korean users as a “secure and regulated” platform.