As reported by Cointelegraph, South Korea’s Busan city has announced a collaboration with cryptocurrency trading platform FTX to build a local cryptocurrency exchange and ensure blockchain development in the city, as part of its blockchain-related initiatives.
According to an official statement from Busan Metropolitan City, Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX will be playing an active role in the development of the Busan Digital Asset Exchange. The Bahamian-oriented firm will also contribute to the growth of the local blockchain industry by supporting the development of the city’s blockchain industry.
It is expected that Busan city will be able to create its own cryptocurrency exchange by leveraging FTX’s technology and infrastructure. As part of its commitment to promote blockchain-based education within the city’s special free zone for blockchain, FTX also intends to work closely with local universities and projects within the special free zone.
According to Amy Woo, CEO, FTX Investment Division, FTX will establish a Korea FTX branch in Busan within the next 12 months to be able to assist the city in becoming one of the biggest digital financial hubs in Asia. A partnership between the City of Busan and FTX follows a similar agreement that was made with Binance a few months ago. A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the company and the city in order to provide technology support and infrastructure support to the city’s blockchain development efforts in the future.
As a matter of fact, Busan has been attempting to establish itself as a blockchain hub in South Korea over the course of the last five years through a number of initiatives and partnerships. Since 2019, when Busan was designated as a South Korea blockchain’s sandbox, various projects have been able to utilise the technology in the city. In this project, various blockchain-based projects were carried out, including the roll-out of proprietary blockchain-based identity systems, the support for cryptocurrency payments for various services, and the development of a blockchain-based license platform.
The Financial Intelligence Unit of South Korea has also been working hard to limit foreign-based exchanges operating within the country in 2022. In addition, the Financial Services Commission is planning to expedite the review of 13 different bills relating to cryptocurrencies that are currently being considered by the South Korean National Assembly.
