S. Korea's digital asset exchange operators bulk up despite crypto winter

Despite being in crypto winter, or a period in which prices of major cryptocurrencies have slid and stayed low for weeks on end, South Korea's biggest exchange operators are looking to increase their human resources by up to 50%. 

The bulking up is in sharp contrast to the country's major tech companies such as Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp. slashing pay and benefits for their developers or reducing new hires this year. 

The combined number of employees at the five major exchanges jumped 32.6% to a record 1,325 last month, compared to 999 late last year. 

The exchanges are Dunamu Inc.’s Upbit, Bithumb Korea Co., Coinone, Korbit and Streami’s GOPAX.

Dunamu, in particular, saw its number of employees surge 47% to 531 during the same time frame.

Huobi Korea, a local subsidiary of Huobi Global, increased its manpower by 15% across the board, beyond the developer pool. 

DIVERSIFICATION

The hiring frenzy is thanks to the crypto exchange operators’ diversification. 

Hit by the market downturn, the businesses concluded that trading fees alone would not be enough to sustain their growth momentum.

Upbit operator Dunamu launched a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called Upbit NFT and the beta version of a metaverse platform called the 2nd block.

Not only that, but the blockchain firm also joined forces with K-pop mega agency HYBE Co. to jointly establish NFT issuer Levvels. HYBE is best known as the label behind BTS.

Bithumb Korea, for its part, launched a subsidiary called Burrito Wallet and continues to expand Bithumb Meta, a metaverse subsidiary.

“Sluggish hiring by the tech giants has directed talents to crypto exchange operators,” an industry insider told The Korea Economic Daily. 

The companies are flush with funds. 

The five largest exchanges in South Korea boast 9 trillion won ($6.85 billion) in cash reserves, most notably from Dunamu’s 6.88 trillion won. 

Experts say the overseas exchanges’ interest in the South Korean cryptocurrency market also pushed the local players to boost their competitive edges. 

On August 8, Hong Kong-based Crypto.com announced it finalized the acquisition of a 100% stake in South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange operator OK-BIT Co. 

Write to Jin-Woo Park at jwp@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.