Summary
- NXC recently announced that it owns cryptocurrencies after lending 28.2 billion won worth of cryptocurrency to its subsidiary Korbit.
- NXC revealed that it had entered the cryptocurrency market early by acquiring European cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp and investing in Tagomi.
- Following founder Kim Jung-ju's death, NXC has been scaling back its cryptocurrency business and sold Bitstamp last year.
Lending Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to subsidiary Korbit
Bitstamp sold to US company
It has been revealed that NXC, the parent company of game company Nexon, holds cryptocurrencies worth tens of billions of won. This fact became known recently when the company lent some cryptocurrencies to its subsidiary. The cryptocurrencies are believed to have been purchased by Kim Jung-ju, the founder of Nexon and former CEO of NXC, during his lifetime.
According to the gaming industry on the 16th, NXC lent 28.2 billion won worth of cryptocurrencies to its subsidiary Korbit last month. Korbit is Korea's first cryptocurrency exchange. NXC acquired Korbit in 2017.
This loan marks the first time NXC's cryptocurrency holdings have been publicly disclosed. Most are believed to be Bitcoin. It is rare for general companies, other than virtual asset operators like Dunamu, to hold cryptocurrencies.
NXC was an early entrant in this field, acquiring Bitstamp, Europe's first cryptocurrency exchange, in 2018, and investing in Tagomi, the world's first cryptocurrency brokerage firm in the US, in the same year. In 2021, Nexon, a Japanese listed company and subsidiary of NXC, purchased 1,717 Bitcoins for 113 billion won. The founder Kim was known to frequently say that "blockchain will be the future food source." After the founder's death, NXC has been reducing its cryptocurrency business. Last year, it sold Bitstamp.
Reporter Kim Ju-wan kjwan@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.
