The co-CEOs of the most prominent internet company in South Korea Kakao announced on Monday its latest blockchain subsidiary project ‘Ground X’ while shooting down rumors of an ICO attached to it.
Blockchain and Kakao 3.0
Kakao is pursuing the release of a blockchain platform this year, one that is capable of having other services and applications built on to it, much like Ethereum.
In a business strategy called ‘Kakao 3.0’, the company is entering a new phase of practice by creating synergies across all facets of its available and future services.
The ‘Ground X’ subsidiary was set up Japan two weeks ago; the project specializes in blockchain technologies and is working toward being the leading global blockchain industry, giving focus to bringing in Asian developers and entrepreneurs seeking to enter the blockchain markets. In a recent press release the company stated:
“Ground X, Kakao’s newly established subsidiary specializing in blockchain, will explore the technology with the goal of taking the technological leadership in Asia,” the company said. “To do so, Ground X will open its blockchain platform to the public, explore ways to leverage R&D and investment to ensure further growth, and offer new blockchain-based services combined with Kakao’s existing services.”
No ICO
Rumors earlier this month speculated that Kakao could be making plans to host an initial coin offering (ICO). They surfaced after TechCrunch reported that they were creating a blockchain subsidiary.
The newly appointed co-CEOs addressed the topic at a press conference recently held in Seoul, with Joh Su-yong saying: “We are not thinking of pursuing an ICO at this moment. We will focus resources on developing a meaningful blockchain platform which many partners in Asia can effectively use and share, with aims to debut it within the year.”.
Positive influence
But it is not to suggest that Kakao is ruling out the possibility of further blockchain-related business as they are currently one of the largest conglomerates in North Korea, worth USD 9.3 billion and currently own South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, UpBit.
As recently reported, Kakao is part of a significant shift being made by multi-billion conglomerates in South Korea, after a period in which the world was convinced that the South Korean government was supposedly about to shut down its cryptocurrency exchanges and entirely ban ICOs.
South Korea is a vital territory for cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies to claim; as conversations move positively on, perhaps these giants of industry and governments can continue to cooperatively elevate the status of the tech to one of compliant, well-integrated validity.
