Dunamu Inc., the mother company of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, and Hybe Co., Ltd., the music agency behind K-pop mega group BTS, launched a K-pop digital collectible platform on Tuesday via their Los Angeles-based joint venture, LEVVELS Inc.
See related article: Dunamu looks to K-pop group BTS NFTs to beat ‘Crypto Winter’
Fast facts
- The platform, named MOMENTICA, aims to further fan-artist engagement through sustainable blockchain technology and is set to formally launch in mid-October.
- Its digital collectibles, named TAKE, capture unique moments of K-pop artists for fans to collect in both image and video format.
- On Oct. 5, fans of five popular K-pop groups — SEVENTEEN, fromis_9, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN and LE SSERAFIM — will be able to pre-register for their free digital collectibles.
- According to LEVVELS, TAKE digital collectibles are recorded on the company’s own blockchain, based on Dunamu’s blockchain service platform Luniverse, which claims to use 30 million times less electricity than Ethereum.
- The South Korea-based Hybe and Dunamu received heavy backlash from K-pop fans when they initially announced their plan to mint K-pop non-fungible tokens (NFTs) last year, with fans mainly concerned about the environmental impact of blockchain-driven digital assets.
- South Korean internet giant Naver Corp. launched its K-pop NFT platform NOW.Drops with LINE’s blockchain subsidiary last month.
See related article: Naver and LINE launch NFT platform for K-pop fans