Bringing the first globally regulated digital asset services into the Korean market
Seoul, September 5th, 2023 - Hana Bank (Bank President Lee Seung-Yeol) announced on the 5th that they have signed a business agreement with BitGo, the leading digital asset custodian.
With this agreement, Hana Bank aims to establish a strategic and exclusive partnership with BitGo and plans to jointly participate in the digital asset custody business following the establishment of this joint venture with BitGo. Upon obtaining the relevant licenses and regulatory approvals - such as the ISMS and VASP certifications - the joint venture entity aims to commence business from mid-2024.
The two companies plan to expand the scope of strategic cooperation through the establishment of a Joint Venture (JV) company. This partnership will comprise of BitGo's industry leading security solutions and digital asset custody, whilst leveraging Hana Bank's expertise in financial services, security, and compliance.
Recent industry events have led to the need for independent, reliable and regulated digital asset custodians - where trading and custody are separated and client funds are never commingled. A flight to safety by institutional investors and participants can now be addressed by Hana Bank and BitGo’s partnership, bringing the best of traditional finance and digital asset custody and security to the Korean market.
With this partnership, the Korean digital asset market is expected to play a leading role in setting global industry standards, especially in terms of protecting digital asset users whilst revitalizing institutional interest across the digital asset sector.
A representative from Hana Bank stated, "By pushing forward with the digital asset custody business alongside the best possible global partner, we expect to greatly contribute to enhancing trust in the domestic digital asset market and foster innovation whilst protecting consumers. This partnership signifies an important milestone - where a globally regulated digital asset service is brought to Korea.”
Furthermore, Mike Belshe, CEO & Co-Founder of BitGo and a respected Silicon Valley engineer and executive, conveyed, "Korea has always been at the forefront of digital asset innovation and adoption. Our partnership with Hana Bank will allow us to bring institutional-grade custody to the Korean market to rebuild trust with institutions, consumers and regulators. BitGo’s wallet platform has been battle-tested for over a decade and safely transacted over $3T for our clients in over 50 countries. We are pleased with this partnership and how it’ll lay the long term foundations for the Korean market, especially with the upcoming developments in the STO market.”
About BitGo
BitGo is the first digital asset company that has been focused exclusively on serving institutional clients since 2013. BitGo provides regulated custody, staking and trading, and core infrastructure for the digital asset economy.
BitGo pioneered the multi-signature wallet and in 2018, it launched BitGo Trust Company, the first qualified custodian purpose-built for storing digital assets and established BitGo New York Trust in 2021. In 2022, BitGo launched institutional-grade DeFi, NFT and web3 services. BitGo secures approximately 20% of all on-chain Bitcoin transactions by value and supports more than 700 digital assets within its platform. BitGo provides the security and operational backbone for more than 1500 institutional clients in 50 countries, including many regulated entities and the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms.
Notably, in November of last year, BitGo was selected by the new CEO of FTX (John Ray III) to be the sole custodian to safeguard FTX creditor’s digital assets through FTX bankruptcy proceedings.
BitGo has maintained a record without any incidents since its establishment in 2013. To prepare for potential security breaches, its digital asset insurance covers up to 250 million USD (approximately 325 billion KRW) through the world's leading insurance company, Lloyd. For more information, visit www.bitgo.com.
About Hana Bank & Hana Financial Group
Hana Bank, one of South Korea's four major commercial banks, operates over 593 branches in South Korea and has extensive global networks of over 191 branches and offices in 25 regions. Hana Bank is a long undisputed leader in PB (Private Banking) with international connections and aims to be a premier global bank.
Hana Bank, a subsidiary of Hana Financial Group provides commercial banking, corporate banking, investment banking, retail banking, foreign exchange, securities trading, credit card, trustee, and Internet banking. Hana Bank offers comprehensive financial services to customers in South Korea.
Hana Financial Group is a leading financial group in South Korea that provides integrated services through subsidiaries including Hana Bank, Hana Securities, Hana Card, and Hana Life. Hana Financial is one of the largest Korean financial groups by total assets.
Disclaimer [BitGo]
©2023 BitGo. All rights reserved. BitGo Trust Company, BitGo Inc., and BitGo Prime LLC are separately operated, wholly-owned subsidiaries of BitGo Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. No legal, tax, investment, or other advice is provided by any BitGo entity. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances. Digital asset holdings involve a high degree of risk, and can fluctuate greatly on any given day. Accordingly, your digital asset holdings may be subject to large swings in value and may even become worthless.
