Woori Financial Group, one of South Korea’s largest banking companies, is getting into digital asset custody.
According to a report in The Korea Economic Daily, the bank is setting up a custody joint venture with Coinplug, one of the earliest bitcoin exchanges in South Korea and a blockchain financial services provider.
Coinplug will be the largest shareholder in the joint venture with Woori Bank, which will be the second largest shareholder, the report said. Custody allows Korean firms to invest in crypto without having to touch the asset themselves.
Woori follows other Korean banks like KB Kookmin and Nonghyup Bank into the crypto custody space as South Korean lawmakers draft crypto legislation and the country’s Financial Services Commission implements anti-money laundering safeguards.
