FTX is expanding its reach into a South Korean metropolis, with a new collaboration that will see its technology integrated into a local cryptocurrency exchange.
A South Korean crypto exchange signed by FTX
FTX is strengthening its presence in the South Korean crypto ecosystem. Sam Bankman-Fried’s company will help the city of Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, in building a local crypto exchange. It will also support blockchain development there.
The city officially announced the partnership, which allows FTX to further stamp its footprint in the South Korean crypto industry, at the end of last August. In effect, the Busan Digital Asset Exchange will be using FTX’s technology and infrastructure.
In addition, the latter will help promote blockchain education with local universities and projects, in the city’s special free zone dedicated to blockchain, which was established in 2019.
Busan has since been designated as the blockchain sandbox of South Korea. The city aims to become the country’s blockchain hub, through its various initiatives and strategic partnerships in recent years.
FTX is thus stepping up its actions in Busan, as FTX Ventures director Amy Wu said the company will open a branch there within the next 12 months, a physical expansion that aims to help the city “become a digital financial hub in Asia.”
South Korea apparently represents a strategic issue for major cryptocurrency exchanges. FTX is expanding its influence in the country’s second-largest city through this technology and educational collaboration. The partnership comes about a month after reports circulated, about FTX’s plans to absorb South Korean platform Bithumb.
