S Korea to Welcome Blockchain-powered Unlisted Stock Trading Platforms

Two new blockchain-powered unlisted over-the-counter (OTC) stock trading platforms should launch in South Korea next year, with a third, rival platform already ready to open its doors for business.

Per Fn News, a potentially groundbreaking cooperation between Dunamu, the operator of market-leading crypto exchange Upbit and Samsung’s Samsung Securities subsidiary is set to begin pilots in early fall this year, with a view to going live in September 2021. The crypto exchange operator states that the new platform will automate and verify the identity of traders using distributed ledger technology.

The media outlet quotes a Dunamu spokesperson as stating that it and Samsung Securities will look to expand the operations of the new Securities Plus platform, details of which were first outlined in October last year.

A second platform, to be run by securities trading platform PSX, in conjunction with the investment arm of major commercial bank Shinhan has already begun a pilot in a regulatory sandbox and claims to offer investors the chance to buy and sell unlisted stocks in some of the country’s fastest-growing businesses, including e-commerce platform Market Curly and accommodation reservation site Yanolja. PSX, per the same media outlet, hopes to be live with its new platform by February 2021, with Shinhan handling technological matters and account management-related issues.

Meanwhile, a third platform, named Be My Unicorn – operated by securities trading company the Korea Securities Computing Corporation (KOSCOM) – claims to already be up and running, having spent one year working on its own interface.

KOSCOM is part of a decentralized ID project being co-run by the government in conjunction with major banks, electronics giants LG and Samsung. More recently, Binance Korea announced that it would be joining the initiative.