Bithumb to invest over $8M in local ‘regulation-free’ zone for blockchain development

Exchanges • January 9, 2020, 4:20AM EST
UPDATED: January 9, 2020, 11:17AM EST
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South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is set to invest 10 billion won (~$8.6 million) in Busan city’s “regulation-free” zone for blockchain development.

The country’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the news on Thursday, saying that Bithumb will invest via its subsidiary GCX Alliance.

Bithumb and Korea's Financial Services Commission will discuss more details about the investment later this month, according to a report from News1 Korea. With the investment, Bithumb could launch several blockchain-based financial services in Busan, per the report.

Busan, Korea’s second most populous city, was declared a “regulation-free” zone for blockchain development by the ministry in August. At the time, the ministry said that Busan would host a wide range of blockchain offerings related to finance, public safety and tourism.

Just last month, Bithumb was hit with a massive tax bill of around $69.5 million by the country's National Tax Service.

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Yogita Khatri profile picture Yogita Khatri

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block and the author of The Funding newsletter. As our longest-serving editorial member, Yogita has been instrumental in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With over 3,000 articles to her name, Yogita is The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Before joining The Block, Yogita wrote for CoinDesk and The Economic Times. You can reach her at [email protected] or follow her latest updates on X at @Yogita_Khatri5.

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