Bitcoin prices continued to fluctuate on Wednesday as authorities in and out of the country expressed concerns over the digital coin’s volatility. After plunging 22 percent from Sunday’s record high of 65.84 million won ($59,294) to 50.9 million won on Tuesday, bitcoin prices stabilized at about 56 million won in the afternoon on Wednesday, Upbit data showed. The recent surge was driven by endorsements from Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Tesla, a US electric vehicle maker, said

Peer-to-peer lending platforms that were once the talk of the town are facing a myriad of challenges amid ongoing litigation and tougher regulations, highlighted by a lawsuit against Tera Funding, experts said on Tuesday. Tera Funding is facing another class action from investors who are unhappy with delayed payments and loss of investments. This is the second time the company has had to deal with a lawsuit since August 2020 when a group of 500 investors took the company to the court, alleging

South Korean investors who make more than 2.5 million won ($2,260) from cryptocurrency trading will face a 20 percent tax starting next year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Monday. The first 2.5 million won is tax-free. For instance, if an investor makes a 10 million won profit from trading Bitcoin, 7.5 million won of that amount will be subject to the 20 percent tax. Inheritances and gifts of cryptocurrency will also be taxed. In such cases, the price of the asset wil

The price of Bitcoin surged to another record high over the weekend, becoming more expensive than 1 kilogram of gold. The digital coin was being traded for more than 65 million won ($58,800) as of Sunday morning, data from crypto exchange Upbit showed. Bitcoin’s rally came as domestic gold prices recently declined to hit a new 10-month low. Gold, which has long been a safe haven asset both in Korea and worldwide, stood at 62,967 won per 1 gram as of Friday. The largest cryptocurrency&

Kim Bong-jin, the founder and chairman of a local delivery app operator Woowa Brothers, on Thursday joined the bandwagon of rich, self-made South Koreans donating substantial amounts of their assets to society. Kim said he and his wife have joined The Giving Pledge, a global campaign of the world’s wealthiest people contributing a majority of their assets to philanthropic projects, and that they would donate a half of their wealth in their lifetimes, according to the company. The 45-ye

Zero Pay, a mobile payment app developed by Seoul City, is considering a partnership with China’s financial platform UnionPay International, the company’s official said Wednesday. “We’re negotiating with UnionPay and other payment apps abroad but it is very early stage,” an official from Korea Easy Payment Foundation, which operates Zero Pay, said. “But it is our firm goal to expand our network beyond Korea so that users can pay with our app overseas,&rdqu

As the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies approach record highs, digital currency exchanges are reaping the benefits of increased traffic, but are simultaneously burdened with security concerns. Domestic crypto exchanges said Tuesday that they are ramping up alert levels amid an uptick in interest and the establishment of new laws. Earlier this month, the top two local digital currency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, suffered server shutdowns amid increased transactions. Bithumb&rsquo

Korea’s venture capital firms are expected to see another strong year, following a record performance in 2020, amid a rise in the valuations of domestic startups and increased options for an investment exit. Hyperconnect, the operator of the video chatting app Azar, last week signed a deal to sell to Match Group, a US tech company that owns a slew of dating apps including Tinder and OkCupid. The deal valued at $1.7 billion will bestow handsome returns to domestic venture capital firms li

Mistaken transactions made through mobile payment apps will be subject to aid from a state-run deposit insurer after a revision of a depositor protection legislation takes effect later this year. Starting on July 6, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation will help reverse error remittances that have occurred not only in accounts of financial institutions but also in mobile payment services such as Toss and Kakao Pay, according to amendments to the Depositor Protection Act. However, transact

Bitcoin prices hit a record high on Tuesday, as US electric vehicle maker Tesla unveiled it had purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin. Bitcoin prices inched closer to 50 million won ($44,800) each in Korean exchanges on Tuesday, while exceeding that threshold in overseas exchanges. Bitcoin in South Korean exchanges were being traded at a discount of more than 3 percent on Tuesday, due to different market environments such as regulations and trading volume.  In its latest annual report Monday

In his early 30s, Kim Dong-joo felt no need to make more money a few years after selling his own social commerce startup to the nation’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao. The 2011 sale carried out in exchange for a huge stock option turned him into a man of fortune when Kakao made a backdoor listing after merging with then Kosdaq-listed internet portal Daum Communications in 2014. But something was missing, he said. “I lost my motivation to work because my monthly salary was i

South Korea’s first internet-only lender, K bank, saw a hike in term deposits in January backed by new customers looking to invest in bitcoins through the online bank. Under the partnership between K bank and crypto exchange Upbit forged in June, retail investors can open a bitcoin trade account via the online lender. A bitcoin frenzy in January appears to have pushed the number of customers subscribing and depositing cash at K bank, according to market watchers. K bank’s sav

Toss Securities, the brokerage arm of South Korea’s leading fintech startup Viva Republica, on Wednesday unveiled a mobile trading system with a goal to attract 1 million active users within the year. During the unveiling of the service which is expected to be launched later this month, Toss Securities said it plans to offer a simple and intuitive mobile trading system to grab investors who are having trouble using existing trading systems and young investors in their 20s and 30s. Toss

Kakao Bank, South Korea’s second internet-only lender, will expand loans for those with low to moderate credit scores and make a foray into the business loan area within the year, the company’s CEO said on Tuesday. Yoon Ho-young, CEO of the lender, told reporters that loans for the low- and mid-credit borrowers will be “significantly” increased from last year’s 1.38 trillion won ($1.24 billion). The size and interest rates for such loans will be dependent on the m

Amateur share traders, who defended the market from a massive selloff by established investors, injected nearly half of last year’s investments in January, but their performance remained in negative territory, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Exchange, individual investors net purchased Kospi-listed stocks worth 22.34 trillion won ($19.97 billion) and 3.51 trillion-won worth of shares from the secondary Kosdaq market. The net buying figures, when combined, are equivalent to 40 p

South Korea’s stock markets fell for four consecutive sessions on Friday, driven by foreign investors‘ sellout. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index began the day in positive territory but fell below 3,000 points for the first time since Jan. 6 when it recorded 2,976.21 points. The index plunged 3.03 percent, or 92.84 points, to 2,976.21 points on Friday, marking the largest daily decline since Aug. 20, 2020. Foreign and institutional investors sold a net of 1.43 tri

D.Camp, a non-profit foundation established by 19 banks to foster startups, said on Thursday it has created a trickle-down effect worth 6.7 trillion won ($6.01 billion) in the past three years. The foundation spent a total of 188.7 billion won to support the startup ecosystem for three years from 2018, with a total investment of 2.43 trillion won from the private sector, said Park Nam-gyoo, a business administration professor at Seoul National University at an online press conference. Park,

Kakao Pay is expected to halt its integrated personal data management services after failing to obtain a license from the financial authorities, the company said Thursday. The move could leave the firm lagging behind rivals, which are aggressively tapping into the business area. The fintech arm of mobile giant Kakao said its asset management service, which allows users to keep track of all their bank accounts, credit card records and insurance policies, will cease Feb. 5. Other companies that

South Korea’s venture investment set records in 2020 both in the number of deals and their value, despite the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced Wednesday. The country’s investment in startups reached 4.30 trillion won ($3.89 billion) in 2020, adding 26.8 billion won, or 0.6 percent, from the previous year. The number of investment deals also hit a record high of 4,231 while the number of invested companies logged an all-time high

South Korea’s tech-heavy Kosdaq rose above 1,000 points Tuesday for the first time in 20 years, before wiping out earlier gains in the afternoon. The secondary index inched up as much as 8.10 points to 1,007.40 points in the morning, for the first time since Sept. 14, 2000, then turned negative to close at 994.00 points, 0.53 percent lower than the previous day. The Kosdaq began at 1,000 points on July 1, 1996 and rose as high as 2834.40 points on March 10, 2000 before plummeting to 99