SK Square, the investment arm of the South Korean telecom conglomerate SK Telecom, wants all portfolio companies to have a presence in the metaverse. Bloomberg reports.
According to SK Square managing director Ha Sok-joon, customers should be able to use cryptocurrencies for purchases, streaming-media payments and other transactions in the virtual community.
The company bought a 35% stake in the cryptocurrency exchange Korbit, and one of its affiliated firms planned to issue a token in the first half of 2022, he added.
“Our business must evolve into a metaverse. Communication between customers will shift from mobile phones to the virtual space, and coins will be used as new currencies on our platforms,” said Sok-joon.
According to the report, SK Square is the largest shareholder in chipmaker SK Hynix. The firm’s portfolio also includes the One Store mobile apps store and the Tmap Mobility taxi aggregator.
Sok-joon noted that the company is studying opportunities to invest in foreign crypto exchanges with a view to creating an international “coin ecosystem.”
The firm will also consider the possibility of purchasing cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, if local restrictions on direct investments in them are lifted, he said.
“I do not think that cryptocurrency on its own is a speculative asset. We recognise the volatility of price movements and must be cautious. But there is no reason for us to rule it out as an investment choice,” said the head of SK Square.
Earlier, Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that in the next two to three years virtual communication between people will move into metaverses.
Grayscale Investments projected that annual revenue of this sector in the near term could reach $1 trillion.
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