Kakao to Launch Digital Currency Exchange
Kakao Stock, South Korea’s top mobile stock trading app, is launching a digital currency exchange. The upcoming digital currency exchange will be offered through the app only, and will handle a number of widely-traded coins including bitcoin and ether.
Kakao Stock is based on South Korea’s most popular smartphone messenger app, Kakao Talk. It was established in February, 2014 by FinTech firm Dunamu Inc. Kakao Stock provides real-time stock quotes and stock trading capabilities that are linked to Kakao Talk. Users buying and trading stocks within the app are connected directly to securities companies in Korea, as well as overseas. Kakao Stock allows its users to conduct transactions without paying additional transaction fees besides the existing trading firm transaction fee.
Kakao Stock claims it has achieved an average monthly user base of 310,000 active users and an average monthly transaction value of 1.2 trillion won (approx. $1.1 billion) since the service launched. Kakao Stock claimed that it has surpassed 1.6 million cumulative downloads and has an aggregate turnover of 20 trillion won as of June this year.
Kakao Stock has established partnerships with a number of top Korean trading firms, including Mirae Asset Global Investments, Kiwoom Securities, Eugene Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, IBK Securities, KB Securities, Creon by Daishin Securities, NH Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities, and Shinhan Investment Corp.
