cryptoknowmics.com
With its next growth aim, South Korea's largest and oldest conglomerate, with roots entrenched in traditional industries, is leaping into the world of the metaverse.
Managing Director Huh Seok-Joon, 48, of SK Square Co., the investment arm of the giant SK Group that was split off into its stock last month, said in an interview that the company wants every portfolio company to have a metaverse presence. He said that customers should be able to utilize bitcoins for purchasing, streaming media, and other metaverse transactions.
South Korea's Oldest Conglomerate Interested in Metaverse
Corporations worldwide are betting on the metaverse, a hypothetical virtual environment in which people can interact with the internet and other people, displacing web browsers and mobile apps.
According to Huh, SK Square is working quickly to stay ahead of younger, more agile competitors: it just purchased a 35 percent interest in a crypto exchange, and one of its affiliates plans to release a coin in the first part of next year.
Huh stated, "Our business must grow into the metaverse." "Our new consumer interface will move away from mobile phones and toward the metaverse, and coins will be used as new currency on our platforms."
SK Square joins a competitive field that includes Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and domestic competitors Naver Corp and Kakao Corp. However, given the young technology and software required to achieve their vision of the metaverse, these expenditures will likely take years to pay off, if at all.
Such bold investments are uncommon among South Korean family-controlled corporations, known as chaebol, which have been reliant on manufacturing for decades. SK Square, which was spun off from SK Telecom Co., is investing in future technologies the same way that SoftBank Group Corp. does.
SK Square announced a 90 billion won on its first day of trading last week. However, Korbit's share of the Korean market is only about 0.3%. Dunamu, the parent of Korea's leading crypto exchange firm Upbit, has a valuation of about 17.8 trillion won. SK Square is the largest shareholder of chip giant SK Hynix Inc. and aims to list coins on Korbit that can buy products and services.
Stricter Regulations on Crypto
South Korea tightens regulations on crypto activities and outlines laws related to investor protection and penalties for illegal acts, so SK Square's investment is timely. Hundreds of cryptocurrency exchanges have been shut down in the country, with just a few big exchanges, such as Korbit, requiring users to register with actual names and bank accounts to trade. SK Square, on the other hand, is moving forward.