More Big-hitting South Korean Non-crypto Firms Eyeing Token Launches

Adoption Career Cryptocurrency Payments South Korea

Author

Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

Author Profile

Share

Copied

Last updated: 

June 26, 2023

Why Trust Cryptonews

Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews

Yet more big-hitting South Korean companies from outside the crypto sector are beginning to branch out into crypto-related business – with the e-commerce giant TMon and the KOSDAQ-listed hotel chain Ananti making moves on the token issuance front.

Per the media outlet Newspim, TMon made mention of crypto pay in its new whitepaper, and appears keen to launch a tentatively named TMon coin, a cryptoasset that could be used on its platforms. The company has created an internal task force that will work on creating the coin.

The token will allow customers to use “services such as payment, savings, and discounts” and the company mentioned creating a “fandom” culture using the coin, whereby brands who sell their products and services on TMon can reward loyal customers with coin “cashbacks” and giveaway offers.

Token issuances in all forms are completely banned in South Korea, but there is a growing feeling that the more crypto-keen President-Elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who takes power early next month, will seek to reverse the ban – after promising a “review” as part of his election manifesto.

Companies like SK are already laying the groundwork for a coin issuance “before the end of the year,” and in the event that Yoon does not reverse the ban – first enforced in 2017 – companies of the size of TMon and SK could easily instead seek to issue their coins via an overseas subsidiary. The internet giant Kakao, which has launched its own klay token, took this route, although South Korean firms are believed to prefer domestic issuance options.

Meanwhile, EDaily reported that Ananti, a chain of resorts, has made a number of job postings for crypto-related experts. The job descriptions make note of a “new crypto-related project” that the company is working on.

There were further clues about a likely coin issuance project from Ananti, too: the posting requires applicants to have “experience in establishing or operating a Singapore-based [subsidiary]” that was “related to coin issuance,” and further reference was made to an “in-house virtual currency launch project.”

Candidates were required to have a “high level of understanding” of the crypto ecosystems, as well as “experience working with blockchain projects.”

South Korean media outlets have suggested that electronics giants such as LG and Samsung may also be keeping an eye on goings-on in the space, with other firms also reportedly interested in token launches of their own.

____

Learn more:
– This Is Why Telecoms Giant SK Aims to Launch a Cryptoasset ‘in 2022’
– Samsung and LG Could Follow SK in Issuing a Cryptoasset – Analysts

– ‘Let’s Create a Crypto Ministry,’ Industry Urges South Korean President-Elect
– S Korean Market Regulator Wants to Label Upbit, Bithumb ‘Large Conglomerates’

– South Korean Bank Shinhan Launches Nation’s First Corporate Crypto-Fiat Account
– Naver, Kakao, LG ‘Will Bid to Participate’ in South Korean CBDC Pilot

– Samsung Unveils New Digital Wallet with ‘Crypto’ and Digital Documentation Capabilities
– Nifty Gateway to Develop ‘Smart TV NFT Platform’ with Samsung