KEB Hana Bank, one of South Korea’s largest financial institutions, will offer digital asset custody services from the latter half of 2024. The bank, which has total assets of US$448 billion, made the announcement Tuesday at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul. It will partner with digital asset custody custody provider BitGo Trust Company on the project.
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Fast facts
- Hana’s new digital asset custody services will operate using BitGo’s blockchain security technology. The two companies did not provide any further information on the services the partnership will provide.
- “The partnership is expected to be an important turning point in raising the standards of the domestic digital asset market to a global level and encouraging institutional participation in the market,” the joint press release from Hana and BitGo said.
- Hana is one of South Korea’s top five banking institutions, having earned a net profit of over 3.16 trillion Korean won (US$2.4 billion) last year.
- Digital asset custodian BitGo has clients, including Nike, in over 50 countries. The California-based company said in the press release that it has decided to expand in South Korea given the country’s favorable regulatory environment.
- BitGo is also launching an office in South Korea in the latter half of 2024, after preparing the necessary licenses under local regulations. Last month, the company completed a US$100 million Series C funding round, with its valuation standing at US$1.75 billion.
- In July, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission announced that it will push to amend the electronic securities laws to include blockchain-powered security tokens within its regulatory framework.
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