One of South Korea’s largest banks, Woori Bank, in collaboration with a blockchain solutions provider and the Coinplug cryptocurrency exchange, Korea Economic Daily reports this.
The partner will take a majority stake in the joint venture D-Custody. According to the publication’s sources, the service will launch next week.
Woori Bank will follow the lead of competitors KB Kookmin, Shinhan Bank and Nonghyup Bank, which have previously implemented similar initiatives.
The push was prompted by the legalization of cryptocurrency trading by the local parliament, as well as the tightening by the Financial Services Commission to enforce anti-money-laundering controls.
In the first quarter of 2021, South Korean banks processed approximately $57.9 billion in transactions on verified accounts linked to cryptocurrency platforms. The figure surpassed the total for 2020.
In June, ForkLog reported that South Korean banks were assessing the feasibility of continuing cooperation with Bitcoin exchanges due to claims by the local regulator against the latter.
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