HappyBlock "'Digital Securities Firm'...Providing Corporate Virtual Asset OTC and Brokerage Services" [Interview+]

Interview with HappyBlock CEO Kim Gyu-yoon

VASP registration completed with financial authorities

Brokerage service for large-volume virtual asset transactions by corporations

When using professional brokerage desk 'Bowman' platform

Reduced setup costs with various trading conditions possible

"Collaborating with financial sector ahead of corporate account approval"

"HappyBlock will provide sophisticated services to corporations and institutional investors, from virtual asset custody to brokerage transactions, based on blockchain technology and financial expertise."

Kim Gyu-yoon, CEO of HappyBlock, stated in an interview with Hankyung.com on the 4th, "We will provide brokerage services to corporations and institutional investors who want to efficiently process large volumes of virtual asset transactions."

Operating 'Bowman', a B2B virtual asset brokerage platform

HappyBlock is a virtual asset brokerage company established in 2022 that positions itself as a 'digital securities firm.' It provides services by applying the role of traditional securities firms that broker stocks and bonds to the virtual asset market.

HappyBlock secured seed investment from SK Securities just six months after its establishment and currently has partnerships with global major Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) such as Fireblocks and Kaiko. In January, it completed VASP registration with financial authorities.

Its core service is 'Bowman,' a virtual asset management and brokerage platform for corporations and institutional investors. It provides integrated management of assets in exchanges, custody, and personal wallets, along with financial management tools.

CEO Kim explained, "Bowman's custody is a vault service that safely stores virtual assets," adding, "Through this service, customers can use a securely designed virtual asset vault based on the technology of global blockchain developer Fireblocks."

He continued, "We've built a multi-security system where administrators managing wallets cannot withdraw funds independently, not just simply storing assets in cold wallets," adding, "It's designed to allow for various types of internal controls depending on the customer type."

Above all, HappyBlock provides virtual asset brokerage services to corporations and institutions through Bowman. CEO Kim emphasized that customers wanting asset management and trading can trade virtual assets safely and efficiently through HappyBlock.

When financial authorities allow corporations to trade virtual assets in the future, they will be able to trade through Bowman. CEO Kim said, "You can think of it as similar to the current order method through securities firms or discretionary/advisory firms," adding, "Virtual assets have a large number of items and different order forms for each exchange, so infrastructure construction for trading incurs significant costs."

He emphasized, "Through Bowman, you can reduce construction costs and receive brokerage for various trading conditions through a professional desk," adding, "Since the brokerage institution takes responsibility if orders are entered incorrectly, transparency and security can be pursued simultaneously."

Anticipating corporate market growth...discussing collaboration with financial sector

HappyBlock is also conducting over-the-counter (OTC) trading for institutions. In Korea, corporations are not allowed to trade between virtual assets and cash. Therefore, OTC is limited to virtual assets. CEO Kim predicted that more diverse forms of OTC would be possible if corporate virtual asset trading is allowed in the second half of this year.

He said, "If investors use unauthorized operators for brokerage or underground virtual asset trading, they may acquire virtual assets used for illegal gambling, drug transactions, etc.," adding, "They could lose all their assets through fraud disguised as OTC trading."

He added, "To prevent the risks of such transactions, it's necessary to trade through professional brokerage institutions," and "Currently, HappyBlock only brokers exchanges between virtual assets, and we're preparing to allow buying and selling virtual assets with cash in accordance with regulations."

In the future, if corporations invest in virtual assets, they will either acquire the actual assets or invest in securities such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). CEO Kim predicted that when the corporate market opens, collaboration points will emerge between VASPs and financial companies in the process of sales and product development.

He said, "We're discussing collaboration with existing financial institutions regarding corporate finance like MicroStrategy, co-sales with existing corporations, and stablecoin issuance and distribution, as we can't accurately predict domestic corporate demand yet and there's no roadmap for Bitcoin ETFs."

Ko Jung-sam, Hankyung.com reporter jsk@hankyung.com