Asian banks are edging yet closer to crypto and digital currency adoption – with South Korean and Mongolian banks unveiling ambitious new developments in the wake of reports of the launch of Singaporean giant DBS’ forthcoming digital asset exchange.
Although DBS has responded to reports by saying that its exchange is still a “work in process,” the bank has confirmed it is working on the project – and a page for the new platform seemingly went live yesterday, although it appears to have been taken down later.
But elsewhere on the continent, bank-operated crypto projects may materialize before DBS puts the finishing touches on its own trading platform.
Per DDaily, South Korean crypto finance company Delio and Hexland, a South Korean blockchain firm founded by a group of former Samsung developers, have agreed a deal to work with the Ulaanbaatar-based Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB Bank). The deal will also involve Mongolian mineral resource and blockchain company MDKI, whose partners include crypto mining giant Bitfury.
TDB Bank is one of Mongolia’s oldest and largest banks, with 50 branches nationwide. It works predominantly with industrial clients.
The companies will initially provide a range of crypto-related services in Mongolia, including crypto custody, remittance, deposits, loans and cryptoasset management.
A Delio official told the same media outlet that the move would allow it to enter the “global cryptoasset financial market” in earnest.
Meanwhile, also in South Korea, major commercial bank Shinhan Bank has agreed a deal with LG’s IT services and blockchain arm LG CNS. The firms said they will co-build a digital currency platform, per BusinessPost.
The firms said they will launch a pilot for what they call a “blockchain-powered digital currency platform” that will be built “in preparation for the issuance of a digital currency by the [central] Bank of Korea.”
The media outlet quoted a Shinhan Bank spokesperson as stating,
“This agreement will be the start of a collaboration with LG CNS in the blockchain sector. We will provide value for our customers by applying blockchain technology in a range of financial services.”
