South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan, is aiming to become a major hub for the cryptocurrency industry. The metropolis has been identified by Korean authorities as a “super aging” city, as more than 20% of its citizens are 65 years old or older. Busan’s officials think that cryptocurrencies can help to revive their population by bringing in younger people, investors, and tech startups.
Busan Targets Becoming a Crypto Center
South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan, is attempting to position itself as a cryptocurrency hub, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The port city is facing a demographic crisis, as the Korean government has labeled it a “super aging” metropolitan area, meaning that 20% or more of its population is 65 years old or older.
Busan’s officers believe that cryptocurrencies will bring in youth and startups to their town, as well as venture capital funding. Noting that crypto is a popular field for younger people to work in, Park Kwang-hee, head of Busan’s blockchain department, said:
We thought it appropriate to deal with digital assets and financial instruments.
It is clear that Busan is still dedicated to its goal of becoming a crypto hub, even after the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange in November last year. The city has signed memorandums of understanding with some of the biggest crypto exchanges around the world. Binance Holdings Ltd. announced plans to launch the Busan Digital Asset Exchange later this year. As part of the agreement, Binance said in August that it would “provide technology and infrastructure support” to the Busan exchange, and the two would share order books.
The Busan Digital Asset Exchange also plans to venture into security tokens. The South Korean government is considering allowing the issuance of such tokens in the coming year, in response to its 2017 ban on all initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Moreover, Busan is working to attract blockchain companies as part of its efforts to become a crypto hub. In 2019, the city became a regulatory-free zone for blockchain testing and related business growth. Currently, sixteen firms are involved in a variety of initiatives. In December last year, fifteen additional blockchain companies moved into the Busan International Finance Center, bringing the total number of companies to 29.
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