JYP Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment conglomerate that counts K-pop acts including 2PM and TWICE among its stars, has unveiled a plan to partner with blockchain company Dunamu to set up a non-fungible token platform dedicated to K-pop.
Fast facts
- JYP’s partnership with Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s biggest crypto trading platform, Upbit, will involve the setting up of a joint business to develop a platform for the production, distribution and trading of NFT-linked K-pop digital assets, according to multiple local media reports, including reporting by the official Yonhap News Agency.
- Dunamu plans to acquire a 2.5% stake in JYP by acquiring shares from JYP CEO Jinyoung Park, according to the reports.
- With JYP’s wide range of popular K-pop acts, the joint venture is expected to make use of the intellectual property of JYP artists including 2PM, Day6, TWICE, Stray Kids and Itzy.
- JYP is not the first K-pop company that has shown interest in NFTs. In April, Worldwide Asset eXchange announced that it had joined forces with K-NFT, an NFT company, to issue NFTs of K-pop group A.C.E, which debuted in 2017.
- Brave Girls, one of K-pop’s most prominent idol groups, last month teamed up with Upbit to release limited edition NFTs in time for a comeback.
- Some fans may not welcome news of the NFT tie-up, and some have already expressed concerns on social media platform Reddit that digital assets might harm the environment, which could in turn hurt the reputations of the artists.