South Korea’s leading moneylender and banking services provider, OK Finance Group recently announced it will be expanding its business in the blockchain industry by launching its crypto coin. According to the media source, the firm will issue the token under the OK Investment Partners (OKIP) subsidiary that will market its entry into the digital economy.
OK Finance Group is a well-known company in South Korea that has established itself globally to provide financial services to consumers. Now, the company is launching its own crypto coin, following in the footsteps of many other South Korean firms that are planning to issue coins once the ban on initial coin offering is lifted.
Like many countries, the South Korean government has been quite strict about cryptocurrency for the past few years. The ban on ICO was placed by The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea in 2017. The agency did consider lifting the ban back in 2019 but after seeing tokens breaking rules, the ban remained maintained.
Many companies like Kakao and Hyundai Group were forced to launch their crypto tokens abroad via ICO.
However, recently, South Korea elected its new president Yoon Suk-yeol who proclaimed to make effective cryptocurrency legislation and remove the ban on initial coin offerings. The government has announced many plans to promote the digital economy in the country.
OK Group issues OK Coin
According to the Seoul Kyungjae news report, OK Group issued the “OK coin” in the secondary market. The company plans on building its own blockchain ecosystem through OK Investment Partners (OKIP), a subsidiary of the group’s digital financial industry.
The company has full plans to expand its business into the blockchain industry by establishing a proper ecosystem. Following its announcement of the OK coin, OK Group will be taking partnership proposals from various blockchain companies that can contribute to the development of its ecosystem.
OK Finance Group is one of the first banking services to enter its business into the blockchain industry. Many rival savings banks have been quite nervous about entering the crypto world.
In contrast to that, the media outlet also shared another giant bank, Woori, which recently announced to launch its crypto coin once the ban was lifted. Similarly, Sangsangin Savings Bank is also considering the possibility of pushing into the blockchain industry. In its recent general shareholders’ meeting, the bank announced “blockchain-based crypto asset trading and brokerage business” and non-fungible token (NFT) “production and brokerage/sales” in its business avenue list.
Two of OK Group’s rivaling banks, SBI Group and Pepper Savings Bank have also made bold steps to enter the blockchain world.
In this heavily competitive environment, OK Group is not holding back from expanding and maintaining its position in the market.
OK Group to introduce NFTs
Following the launch of the OK coin, the company will also issue NFTs through its OKIP project. Earlier in January, a men’s professional volleyball team under OK Financial Group, ‘Songman Professional Volleyball Team’, launched NFT cards for free to fans, making it the first domestic team to introduce digital collectibles.
OK Finance Group realized the potential of NFTs in South Korea after noting the response from the public. Now, it is ready to introduce NFTs directly linked to its ecosystem.
The company wants to be one step ahead of others. In the proposal for digital expansion, the company stated: “We want to secure corporate competitiveness that can respond to the emergence of blockchain-based services such as central bank digital currency (CBDC) and virtual assets.”
OK Group also detailed it will be partnering with public crypto wallets such as Ethereum and Klaytn.
An official from OK Financial Group told Seoul Kyungjae that the OK coin is set to be officially ready by this year, and the target time to build the ecosystem is set for the first half of next year.
In case the ban remains during the date of release, the OK Group will launch the OK coin overseas.
