By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
The Korean Economic Daily has revealed that Woori Financial Group, a subsidiary of Woori Bank (a leading South Korean bank), is the latest addition to Korean banks that now offer crypto custody services. Woori’s crypto custody service is being done in collaboration with Coinplug (a FinTech crypto firm) and has named its services, D-custody.
Coinplug and Woori bank will be the top two shareholders of D-custody, and in a few weeks from now, they will incorporate the venture. The current Korean policy is that local banks can’t offer crypto exchange services unless they collaborate with crypto-related firms through joint ventures or other forms of partnerships. However, most Korean banks with interest in the crypto market have started partnering with these crypto-related FinTech firms to profit from the virtual asset market.
One of Woori bank’s reps disclosed that “crypto custody services is now a legal, successful and proven service offered by banks in the international market.”
Other Banks With Crypto Custody Services
Last August, the four biggest banks (Kookmin, Shinhan, NH Nonghyup, and Woori Banks) in South Korea announced that they would start offering crypto services. Before establishing its cryptocurrency custody services named Korea digital asset co., Koookmin had made an official request to trademark its custody operations by March last year.
Then, by November last year, Kookmin partnered with hashed (a venture fund firm) and Haechi labs (a blockchain service company) to launch its crypto custody services. By the middle of last year, NH Nonghyup bank revealed its partnership with Hexlant (another blockchain service firm) to launch its blockchain FinTech service group. It also revealed further plans to collaborate with Korea Information & Communications company to create a crypto custody service.
Shinhan Bank revealed in January this year that it is now a major shareholder in Korea’s digital asset trust (a Korbit-owned crypto custody group). Korbit is one of the top exchanges in the country.
Woori is the last among the top banks to launch its crypto custody services.
Canada Has Its First Qualified Crypto Custodian
In other news, Tetra Trust (a FinTech startup based in Calgary, Canada) has revealed that its registration is now certified by the Government of Alberta. Hence, making it the first regulated virtual asset custodian in the whole country.
Tetra revealed that Canadian crypto users usually rely on regulated crypto custodians from the U.S. or some unregulated ones in Canada. But with this new development, these users will no longer have to go through this hassle. Tetra trust’s crypto custody service will cover all tokenized assets such as bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Excitedly, Tetra Trust Fund’s CEO, Eric Richmond, said, “we are happy not because we are the first Canada-based solution in this space, but because Canadian crypto users now have a Canada-based crypto custodian solution. It is a proven fact that there are more crypto-related firms in this country than in any other place. Hence, it has a necessity for a legal crypto custodian service for Canadians.”
At Tokenhell, we help over 5,000 crypto companies amplify their content reach—and you can join them! For inquiries, reach out to us at info@tokenhell.com. Please remember, cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets. Always conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Some content on this website, including posts under Crypto Cable, Sponsored Articles, and Press Releases, is provided by guest contributors or paid sponsors. The views expressed in these posts do not necessarily represent the opinions of Tokenhell. We are not responsible for the accuracy, quality, or reliability of any third-party content, advertisements, products, or banners featured on this site. For more details, please review our full terms and conditions / disclaimer.