Morning News: Property Startup Enjoys Success, Kimchi Premium Over?

Real Estate Startup Enjoying Crypto Success Goodbye “Kimchi Premium,” Hello “Hamburger Premium”? Airline Postpones its Crypto Plans Coinone Exchange Launches Android Mobile App

Catch up on the most essential cryptocurrency and blockchain news stories breaking in Asia and the Americas while the rest of the world was asleep.

Japanese Real Estate Startup Enjoying Crypto Success
Yitanzi, a Japanese real estate vendor, has been making headlines across Asia and beyond by accepting bitcoin payments – and recently completed the eye-opening 547 BTC sale of a Tokyo apartment. Per news outlet Maeil Business Economy, Itanji began accepting cryptocurrency payments from January 10, and has already received 100 firm enquiries on the 16 properties it has listed. Maeil quotes Yoshiko Yokozawa, Yitanzi’s chief technology officer as saying, “There are many people who want to turn their bitcoin funds into real estate investments. And, conversely, there are a lot of people who are eager to sell properties in order to acquire large amounts of cryptocurrencies.”

Goodbye “Kimchi Premium,” Hello “Hamburger Premium”?
News1 reports that South Korea’s thirst for cryptocurrencies has subsided, with investors in the country no longer prepared to pay over the odds for bitcoin and other currencies. A phenomenon widely known as the “kimchi premium” last year saw Korean investors buying at higher prices than elsewhere in the world due to increased local demand. However, due to the recent market dip and tighter regulations, prices in South Korea are now lower than in the United States – with South Korean media terming this new phenomenon the “hamburger premium.” Per South Korean exchange platform Bithumb, currencies such as bitcoin are now trading at 2.5% lower than that at American platforms like Bittrex. Prices are also around 2% higher in nearby Japan. Last year, traders in Korea were paying up to 40% more to buy cryptocurrencies than investors in regions such as Hong Kong.

Japanese Airline Postpones its Crypto Plans
Peach, a Japanese low budget airline, has pushed back its plans to begin accepting cryptocurrencies until at least March this year. The carrier made headlines around the world last year when it announced it would begin accepting bitcoin and other currencies, hoping to launch the service as early as December 2017. However, media reports are suggesting that price fluctuations, the recent Coinchek hack and other factors have led the company to rethink its plans and aim for a spring release. Peach, which operates out of Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, had originally hoped to target Chinese customers with its cryptocurrency tickets – unveiling its plans before Beijing’s wide-reaching crypto-crackdown in September last year.

South Korea’s Coinone Exchange Launches Android Mobile App
Major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinone has released a smartphone app. Featuring real-time chat functions, alert settings and biometric login features, the app is first being made available to Android users, with an iOS version set to follow later this month.