Kookmin Bank, which is among the largest banks in South Korea, is set to offer digital currency custody and management services. The bank, better known as KB Bank, has partnered with blockchain venture capital firm Hashed and Cumberland digital currency exchange for offering these crypto services. Hashed’s legal compliance officer Jin Kang revealed in a blog post that all the three companies would partner on all things blockchain.
The bank will offer crypto custody and management services.
According to Hashed’s legal compliance officer Jin Kang the partnership “will entail managing and storing digital assets, advocating for optimal regulatory developments, and transforming the traditional financial sector.” South Korean regulators have taken a progressive approach when it comes to regulating cryptocurrencies in the country. The South Korean government has been warming up to banks interacting with digital currencies as well. This has allowed the country’s four leading banks to begin exploring the industry, with KB Bank now making the first definitive move.
Jin Kang revealed that KB Bank believes that apart from digital currencies, other assets such as real estate and artwork will be tokenized, issued, and traded on blockchain platforms.
South Korean government finalized a 20% tax rate on crypto incomes.
As reported earlier, the South Korean government finalized a 20% tax rate for income generated from cryptocurrency trading in the country. After a Tax Development Review Committee meeting last month, the Ministry of Economic and Finance announced its revised tax code detailing the tax rules for income generated from the crypto trading. The South Korean government highlighted that introducing taxation for crypto is now necessary, pointing to the approach taken by other countries as well. In some countries, cryptocurrencies are already taxed under similar regimes for income from stocks and derivatives trading.
