The startup aims to become the first South Korean crypto player to list on the KOSDAQ Exchange
A South Korean crypto and blockchain startup aims to KOSDAQthe country’s stock exchange, and could become the country’s first listed company.
The company, named Blockohas hired one of the country’s best financial firms – Shinhan financial investment – to manage the listing process as the firm seeks to launch an initial public offering (IPO).
News1 reported that Blocko hopes to complete its listing on KOSDAQ (Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) sometime in 2023.
The company has previously been supported by the likes of the steel giant POSCOplus Shinhan Bank. Earlier this year, it received an investment boost of $3.6 million from Daehong Communicationsa marketing company of the retail conglomerate The Lotte group. Some estimate the company’s value could be as high as $64.5 million.
Blocko is set to work on a variety of non-fungible token (NFT) and security token offering (STO)-related products with a number of Lotte Group affiliates, startup CEO Kim Jong-hwan stated.
Another conglomerate backer is CJif IT services arm CJ Olive Networks last year enlisted Blocko to develop an NFT-based ticketing solution that will be able to combat counterfeiting. CJ has also talked about his plans to use NFT technology in the “entertainment industry in the future.”
Crypto’s long journey to KOSDAQ
South Korea’s crypto sector has grown exponentially in recent years, and before the onset of crypto winter, few industries in the country were bringing in profits on the same scale.
The country’s two largest crypto exchanges – Upset and Bithumb – have both attracted significant interest in the financial markets, with several financial analysts claiming that Upbit in particular could be thinking of a Nasdaq entry.
Upbit has been classified as a “very large” company (similar to the likes of Samsung and LG) by the South Korean market regulator. As such, most agree that the firm is simply too big for a listing on KOSDAQ.
Other, smaller crypto exchanges have also been touted as possible candidates for a KOSDAQ IPO. But since the beginning of the crypto winter, talk of plans like these has cooled quickly – with most crypto players posting poor quarterly results.
Founded in 2014, Blocko is one of South Korea’s so-called “first-generation” blockchain companies. The company made a net profit of just under $500 million in net profit last year, along with $1.6 billion in revenue.
