Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of economics and cryptography.
South Korea’s second largest city aims to become a crypto hub – Featured Bitcoin News
South Korea’s second largest city, Busan, is trying to become a crypto hub. Busan has been designated by the Korean government as a “super-aged” city, and its officials believe that crypto can help turn things around by attracting young people, tech startups and investors.
South Korean city wants to become a crypto hub
The second largest city in South Korea, Busan, is trying to position itself as a crypto hub, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The port city faces demographic challenges as it has been designated a “super-aged” city by the Korean government, meaning more than 20% of its population is 65 or older.
Busan city officials believe that by embracing cryptocurrency, the city can attract young people, technology startups and investment from venture capital firms.
Park Kwang-hee, head of the Finance and Blockchain Division of the Busan Metropolitan Government, was quoted by the publication as noting that younger people prefer to work in areas such as crypto.
We thought it was right to focus on digital assets and financial products.
Park noted that despite the collapse of crypto exchange FTX last November, Busan remains committed to its plans to become a crypto hub.
The city has entered into memorandums of understanding with several of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance Holdings Ltd., to launch the Busan Digital Asset Exchange by the end of this year. Binance said last August that as part of the deal, Busan will “receive technological and infrastructure support from Binance” and the two exchanges will share their order books.
Busan Digital Asset Exchange also plans to venture into security tokens. The South Korean government is considering allowing the issuance of such tokens in the coming year, reversing the 2017 ban on all initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Also, Busan’s push to become a cryptocurrency hub includes attracting blockchain companies. In 2019, the city became a regulation-free zone for blockchain testing and related business development. It currently supports six projects out of 17 companies. Last December, 15 more blockchain firms moved into the Busan International Finance Center, bringing the total number of companies to 29.
What do you think about Busan’s efforts to become a crypto hub? Let us know in the comments section below.
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