Digital Currency Group Invests in South Korean Crypto Exchange

Digital Currency Group (DCG) has made a strategic investment in a South Korean crypto exchange, seemingly unfazed by regulatory tightening in the country.

• The crypto-focused venture capital company, also the parent company of CoinDesk, is now the second-largest shareholder in blockchain company Streami, according to an emailed announcement Thursday.
• The size of the investment was not disclosed.
• Streami is the operator of crypto exchange Gopax, which has a 24-hour trading volume of about $115 million, according to CoinMarketCap data.
• The investment suggests DCG is not concerned that Gopax will be hurt by the country’s move to a stricter regulatory environment.
• Exchanges in the country have until Sept. 24 to register as virtual asset service providers (VASPs), allowing the state to determine the legality of a company’s operations with regard to fraud, money laundering and so on.
• The head of the Financial Services Commission, South Korea’s regulator, suggested in April that all crypto exchanges in the country could be shut in September because not one had registered.
• The investment deal also sets up a partnership between Streami and Genesis, a digital-asset lender and DCG subsidiary, that will see Gopax harness Genesis’ liquidity pool to offer savings products.
• In December, Gopax launched its savings product Gofi, which has user deposits of some $600 million.