ZCZC
BCN-31
SKOREA-CRYPTOCURRENCY-MARKET-BITCOIN-SINGAPORE
Plastic surgeon buys top S. Korea Bitcoin exchange
SEOUL, Oct 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A consortium led by a prominent Seoul
plastic surgeon purchased a controlling stake in South Korea’s largest
cryptocurrency exchange, reports said Friday.
The hyper-wired South has emerged as one of the world’s top Bitcoin
markets, at one point accounting for more than 20 percent of global bitcoin
transactions — about 10 times the country’s share of the global economy.
Singapore-based BK Global Consortium bought a 50-percent stake plus one
share in Bithumb, the country’s biggest virtual currency exchange, from
shareholder BTC Holdings for about 400 billion won ($353 million), Yonhap
news agency and other South Korean media said, citing industry sources.
Bithumb has more than a million customers but suffered a devastating
hacking attack in June that left more than $30 million worth of
cryptocurrency stolen.
South Korean exchanges have been hit by a series of attacks by hackers who
stole millions of dollars, contributing to the market losing steam as prices
tumbled.
The BK consortium is an investment group led by Kim Byung-gun, a high-
profile plastic surgeon who founded BK Plastic Surgery Hospital, a major
clinic in Seoul that also has operations in Singapore.
Cryptocurrencies have plunged since the end of 2017, when Bitcoin hit a
record high near $20,000, having surged from less than $1,000 just 11 months
earlier. The unit is now worth around $6,210.
BSS/AFP/HR/1425