Share this article
Korean Bank Partners With Bitcoin Startup Circle
By Stan Higgins
Updated Apr 10, 2024, 3:19 a.m. Published Jul 27, 2016, 6:00 p.m.
One of South Korea's largest banks has inked an agreement with the best funded startup working in the bitcoin space.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
KB Kookmin announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with bitcoin payments startup Circle, as well as local startup Coinplug, today. Coinplug, which is based in South Korea, was previously revealed to be working with the bank to develop a blockchain remittance prototype.
According to Business Korea, KB Koomkin has agreed to promote businesses in the blockchain space, while also signing a separate agreement to work on applications for mobile device certification.
The news comes roughly a month after Circle announced a $60m fundraise from a group of Chinese investors, a move that signaled the startup's push into the Asian digital currency market.
"We are excited to work with the top tech companies in London, a hub of the FinTech industry," a representative for the bank told the publication, adding:
"KB Kookmin Bank will strive to provide our customers with new experience by adopting cutting-edge technologies."
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Circle.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin Drops Below $90K Amid Fading Risk Appetite Ahead of Key Macro Events
Bitcoin hovered below $90,000 on Sunday as low liquidity, altcoin weakness and imminent U.S. and global data releases kept traders cautious.
What to know:
- Bitcoin slipped below $90,000 in low-liquidity Sunday trading.
- Ether showed relative strength while major altcoins lagged.
- Traders are positioning ahead of a busy week of U.S. data and central bank events.
Top Stories
