Crypto.com signs an agreement with Busan

The well-known exchange Crypto.com, which has recorded by far the highest growth rates of any exchange in the world over the past two years, has entered into a major partnership agreement with South Korea’s port city of Busan.

Crypto.com and the agreement with Busan

The signed agreement is called a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU. As part of this strategic partnership, Crypto.com will leverage its partnerships, resources, and expertise to advance innovation, technologies, education, and research with the goal of advancing Busan City’s blockchain ecosystem and Digital Assets Exchange project. In addition, Crypto.com will establish a workforce presence within Busan. Crypto.com will also sponsor and participate in Busan Blockchain Week to be held from 27 to 29 October.

Eric Anziani, COO of Crypto.com, said:

“The City of Busan is making great strides in becoming a global hub for innovation and we are excited to partner and support these efforts. There is a real opportunity to make a tremendous impact in advancing the potential of blockchain technology in Busan and beyond and we are eager to collaborate and leverage our relationships and expertise in realizing that potential.”

Patrick Yoon, general manager, South Korea of Crypto.com, said:

“This strategic partnership with the City of Busan is an important next step for Crypto.com following the acquisition of EFTA and VASP registration in Korea,” said Patrick Yoon, General Manager, South Korea at Crypto.com. “We look forward to partnering with the City of Busan on the development of a sustainable blockchain ecosystem and driving the next phase of economic development and job creation.”

Busan: a more crypto-friendly city thanks to Crypto.com

The port city of Busan in South Korea has long been considered a hub of sorts for blockchain and technological innovation. For the past few years, it has also become one of the most crypto-friendly cities in the world.

In September, the city had also signed a memorandum of understanding with another exchange: Huobi. Huobi Global through its Korean subsidiary Huobi Korea announced that with this partnership, it will work closely with the city to develop its nascent blockchain industry by providing research and development, technology, and financial support to the Busan Digital Currency Exchange.

The city had previously actively partnered with other famous exchanges such as FTX and most notably Binance, the world’s largest exchange, specifically to develop its blockchain and crypto infrastructure.

The most crypto-friendly cities in the world

There are several cities that are developing their own strategy in recent years to become a hub for the entire cryptocurrency and digital asset industry.

One of them is Dubai, which recently enacted new regulations on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The city has become home to about 1,000 companies in the industry, generating a turnover of about $500 million for the emirate’s economy.

Competing in this respect with the emirate’s city in addition to the small Swiss city of Zug in the canton of the same name, the city-state of Singapore is increasingly making inroads. Already in the past year the MAS, the monetary authority, has issued regulations that are very favorable to cryptocurrencies and the crypto industry.

But Miami and New York also have two mayors who have always been pro-cryptocurrency and both aspire to make their cities hubs for the crypto world. And then there is precisely Busan, which has been granted very favorable legislation toward the industry by the South Korean government precisely to favor the city as an international hub for the blockchain and cryptocurrency world

The Crypto.com exchange

Founded in 2016, Crypto.com serves more than 50 million customers and is the fastest-growing global cryptocurrency platform in the world. It began a tight promotional campaign two years ago, especially in sports, specifically to boost its image among younger audiences. The exchange sponsors the Formula 1 car Grand Prix and the MotoGP Grand Prix, as well as the Serie A soccer championship. A few weeks ago top management announced that Crypto.com will be the main sponsor of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

It also looked like it was going to replace Gazprom as the main sponsor of the Champions League, but then the $495 million deal for five seasons reportedly fell through in the final hours.

Speaking of Gazprom and Russians, news broke in the last few hours that the exchange would have instructed all of its Russian users to withdraw their funds by 27 October, and that it would ban all Russian citizens from using its services, in full support of sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union.

This decision also comes on the heels of another major announcement by the company, which a few months ago also obtained authorization to operate in our country, to have opened its European headquarters in Paris, with the clear intention of further developing and firmly targeting the market on the old continent.

Eric Anziani, COO of the company, explains:

“We are incredibly excited to solidify our commitment to France and Europe through the establishment of our regional headquarters in Paris. Our regulatory approval was the first major step in our journey in France, and we look forward to continuing to engage with stakeholders across all sectors to help facilitate the new digital economy in France and provide customers with a best-in-class crypto experience.” 

To achieve this European market development, the company has agreed to invest $150 million over the next three years.