South Koreas first crypto exchange is bringing another first for the country with the launch of its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace.
South Korean-based cryptocurrency exchange Korbit has announced the launch of an NFT marketplace. The announcement reportedly marks the first NFT marketplace to launch in South Korea.
Korbit said that starting today, NFT creators can officially put their digital artwork or music up for sale on the marketplace. This includes crypto investors who currently own NFTs that they wish to re-sell on the open market. All sales will be via Ethereum (ETH).
In a statement, the CEO of Korbit Oh Se-jin said that “the local NFT market is still in a fledgling stage, compared to global ones.”
While Korbit will be the first NFT marketplace in Korea, there have been some private sales that have preceded this announcement. Namely, in March at a local art auction, an animated NFT was sold for around $600,000. Meanwhile, a video artwork titled “Global Groove” by Baek Nam-june is going up for sale and expected to sell for north of $100,000.
Song Ja-ho, CEO of Pica Project shared her hope for NFTs in the art world. “Young collectors in their 20-30s seem to think art is something special as they can own and enjoy, while they can get some financial gains from it.”
New Regulations in Korea causing new problems
The launch comes at a time of scrutiny around cryptocurrency in South Korea. Last week, the South Korean government announced a 20% income tax on crypto transactions. These would reportedly include the sale of NFTs that exceed $45,000 or a cumulative total of sales that eclipses that figure.
The tax has been on the table for more than a year now and is far from the only new restriction South Korea has added. One of the others is the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information that began in mid-2019.
The act revolves around giving more legal options to Korea to combat money laundering. Essentially, it required crypto exchanges to submit user information for their client base to officials.