South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has reportedly started marketing new crypto exchanges in Thailand and Indonesia as part of its global expansion plans. The company recently launched an exchange in Singapore. Over 130 coins and 240 trading pairs will be offered on both of the new Upbit exchanges, according to their websites.
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Latest Expansion Plan
Upbit, one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been marketing new crypto exchanges in Thailand and Indonesia in their local languages, according to local media. The company has set up a website for each exchange.
Edaily reported Upbit describing on Friday that “Both countries appreciate the growth potential of the cryptocurrency industry.” The exchange was quoted by the publication as saying:
Thailand and Indonesia are very interested in blockchain and cryptocurrency, so we thought it would be a good thing to have an online presence before launch.
Upbit is operated by Dunamu Inc., an affiliate of Kakao Corp. which operates the country’s most popular chat app, Kakaotalk. Upbit is also affiliated with U.S.-based exchange Bittrex.
Dunamu CEO Lee Seok-woo has been planning overseas expansion for his exchange. “From the outset of the Upbit business, the company had a blueprint to become a global foreign exchange, not limited to the domestic market,” the news outlet detailed.
Recently, Upbit officially an exchange in Singapore that supports Singapore dollars. The company plans for the new exchanges to support the baht in Thailand and the rupiah in Indonesia.
Upbit Thailand
“Prepare to meet Upbit Thailand soon” is the message displayed on the front page of the Thai Upbit website. The exchange also states that its service is in “closed beta” phase and is currently available only to a limited number of early registrants. There will be 131 coins listed and 241 trading pairs.
The Thai government enacted cryptocurrency in May. It is currently evaluating a number of applicants wanting to operate in the crypto space. Six crypto exchanges and one dealer have been to operate in the country while their applications are being reviewed since they were in business prior to the regulations. The central bank has also commercial banks to create subsidiaries for cryptocurrency activities.
Upbit Indonesia
Upbit’s Indonesian website is less developed than its Thai counterpart. “Buy and sell the latest crypto assets from our partner, Bittrex, the premium exchange from the United States” is the translation of the message displayed on its front page. According to the website, 156 coins and 276 trading pairs will be supported.
In June, the Indonesian Futures Exchange Supervisory Board signed a decree to regulate cryptocurrencies as .
Domestic Environment
Zdnet described last week that the expansion to Thailand and Indonesia is Upbit’s effort to increase its overseas user base, stating:
Upbit is experiencing difficulties in increasing users because it has not been able to issue a new real-name account since January of this year. Upbit has said it plans to step up its overseas expansion, starting with Southeast Asia.
The South Korean government implemented the real-name system in January. However, banks have been to provide this service to crypto exchanges. So far, they have only offered the real-name conversion service to the country’s top four crypto exchanges, including Upbit.
“I am in a desperate situation which I can lose a great opportunity if I miss this period,” Edaily quoted Lee as saying. He further explained that while “the situation in Korea is not good due to various regulations,” competition is increasing. Lee emphasized:
If we wait for the domestic trading environment to improve, we will be left behind in the global market.
What do you think of Upbit launching crypto exchanges in Thailand and Indonesia? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Upbit.
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A lot has been going in and around the arrival of upcoming Constantinople hard fork update. The hardfork which was earlier scheduled for this month, is now likely to launch on the 16th of January 2018. Last month, during the testnet launch of Constantinople, it ran into a series of hurdles. The core developer team conducted a during the October end, where they decided not to rush through the process.
This new date of January 16th is a tentative decision, made through a non-verbal agreement. However, note that this isn’t final or fixed. Developers have made it earlier clear that the hard fork can even see a possible further extension provided any additional problems arise.
Developer’s Opinions on Upcoming Hard Fork
Core developer Péter Szilágyi said:
“We can just say mid-January, it doesn’t make difference if we decide on a date or not. We can always postpone.”
Another developer Lane Rettig provided insights into the research done regarding the Ethereum’s difficulty-bomb.
The difficulty bomb means the increase in difficulty of mining new blocks on the Ethereum network. Over a period of time as the complexity increases, it will ultimately reduce in a slowdown in the number of blocks added. Ultimately it might prove to be a deterrent for the miners. However, Ethereum is planning to move from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) going ahead.
Rettig said that the difficulty bomb can be visible since January. Furthermore, it can also lead to a 30-second block time by the April or May of the upcoming year. “So we have time, there’s no critical concern,” Rettig said.
Back in September itself, the developers agreed to postpone the difficulty bomb to a further 18 months. Moreover, they also upon reducing the mining rewards from 3 ETH to 2 ETH. Apart from this, the Constantinople hard fork will bring several upgrades underlying the code.
ProgPow Implementation
During the last conference call, there was a discussion of adding a ProgPow protocol during the Constantinople upgrade. The ProgPow aims at enhancing Ethereum’s resistance to specialized mining hardware like ASICs. There is a fear that the existing use of ASIC chips can centralize mining power in the hands of a few powerful miners. However, its implementation wasn’t discussed during the latest conference call. The developers noted some issues regarding the implementation saying that a formal specification for the code is still incomplete.
Developer Szilágyi, however, urged that all the software upgrades implementing the Constantinople hard fork should be released before the end of this year. “All clients should release a stable version with the baked in block number before Christmas,” Szilágyi said.