Ground X, the blockchain affiliate of the leading South Korean mobile platform, Kakao, is now stepping into NFT (Non-fungible token) space. Ground X will now store and verify private securities on its blockchain, Klaytn, as tokens. These private securities are investments in startups that investors are offered before being publicly listed. These unlisted investments are over-the-counter (OTC) trades.
Ground X has forged new strategic alliances with the likes of Quotabook, a fin-tech company, and a leading stock & security trading platform. The partnership aims to open up a new dimension of trading by allowing its users to purchase shares of unlisted startups and maintain the records of these transactions.
In a press release email, Ground X stated that ownership and transaction information would be stored and recorded on its public blockchain, Klaytn. The record of the investment will then be minted as a token and given to shareholders in the form of a digital card through Klip. According to Inés Chun, communications manager at Ground X, the new system will let shareholders of Korean startups using QuotaBook mint their unlisted investments information as NFT cards. Unlisted investments are usually available through internal connections with the company offering them. They can also be bought through dealers that make the securities available.
Ground X launched its public blockchain, Klaytn, in June 2019. Later that year, Binance joined Klaytn’s 24-company governance council.
Klip is the digital wallet developed by Ground X, and it safeguards Klaytn’s token KLAY along with Klaytn compatible tokens such as CPT, HINT, CRE, COSM, and more. Klip is embedded in South Korea’s popular messaging app KakaoTalk. KakaoTalk serves around 50 million users worldwide, and Klip is available to all KakaoTalk users.
At the end of 2020, South Korea’s OTC trading market hit a record-high market capitalization of over $1.1 billion or 1 trillion won since its launch in 2014.