South Korean mobile services company T Scientific announced Monday it will purchase a 60.36% stake in PlutusDS, the operator of local cryptocurrency exchange Hanbitco.
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Fast facts
- T Scientific, a South Korean company specializing in the provision of mobile coupons and mobile commerce services, has agreed to pay 24.14 billion KRW (US$19.5 million) to acquire 60.36% of PlutusDS, the privately-held operator of local cryptocurrency exchange Hanbitco, according to a statement.
- With the management rights to the trading platform, T Scientific will expand its blockchain business activities in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and diversified financial services.
- The company said it may increase its stake in Hanbitco to 70%.
- T Scientific shares rose 15.15% on Tuesday on KOSDAQ, the first day of trading following the announcement, and was recently quoted at 4,305 KRW (US$3.48).
- T Scientific also owns 8.17% of Bithumb Korea, the second-largest digital asset exchange in South Korea.
- Hanbitco is one of the smaller exchanges registered as a token-to-token marketplace under South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit, with a trade volume of US$246,139 in the last 24 hours.
- Under comprehensive anti-money laundering measures that came into effect in September, South Korean regulators require a crypto exchange to attain a contract with a local bank so that customers can have withdrawal and deposit accounts in their real names.
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