BitGo Holdings ·, a crypto custody company, said it became the first global cryptocurrency firm to secure a virtual asset services provider license in South Korea, giving it access to institutions in one of the world's most active crypto populations.
The company, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) earlier this year at a $2 billion valuation, established a local entity, BitGo Korea, to add to existing regulated units in the U.S., Singapore, Germany, and Dubai. The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) approval covers virtual asset custody and transfer services for institutional and enterprise clients, BitGo said Wednesday.
South Korea's retail crypto traders are considered to be particularly active, with daily volumes on local exchanges regularly outpacing those of stocks during peak periods. Now, the institutional crypto market is drawing increasing attention as retail trading is hit by a weak global crypto market that saw volumes drop and the two largest exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, report slumping first-half retail trading profit.
“Korean institutions are looking for infrastructure that combines institutional-grade security with local support and regulatory alignment,” said Abel Seow, managing director at BitGo.
The company built the entity from the ground up, putting local security, anti-money laundering, and internal control frameworks in place. Financial holding company Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile phone operator, are strategic shareholders in BitGo Korea.
Bitgo shares surged 16% on Wednesday as cryptocurrency prices climbed. They are up 3.2% in pre-market trading.