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| Coinone's customer service center in Seoul / Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
Coinone, the nation's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, is seeking a fresh breakthrough in a partnership with KakaoBank amid bearish market sentiment.
Under the partnership, the internet-only bank will offer real-name accounts for Coinone users. The exchange aims to attract more investors, as Dunamu ― the operator of the largest crypto exchange here, Upbit ― did after clinching such a partnership with K bank, another first-generation internet bank here.
Mobile banks have a competitive edge in their platforms, compared with conventional lenders, as the former offers an easier-to-use interface at a faster speed than traditional banks.
Dunamu's partnership with K bank is considered one of the best bets that the exchange has made for the past few years on its way to becoming the nation's dominant exchange operator with a market share of almost 80 percent.
Coinone appears to be following a similar path through the new partnership, but industry officials said it remains to be seen whether the company will be able to achieve outstanding growth following the agreement with KakaoBank. According to market tracker CoinGecko, Coinone's market share in Korea reached the 4-percent range here. Bithumb is the second-largest exchange with 15 percent, followed by Coinone, Korbit and Gopax.
"Existing investors have a strong tendency to keep using their main crypto exchange, so the key lies in how many new investors Coinone will be able to attract on the KakaoBank effect after the market enters a rebound cycle," an industry source said.
"Korbit and Gopax held a series of promotional events by reducing commission charges, as part of efforts to attract new customers, but it was not effective enough," the source said. "But the partnership with KakaoBank will be a big incentive (to expand Coinone's user base) thanks to the lender's convenience and platform power."
NongHyup Bank is the current partner of Coinone, and their contract ends on March 25 next year. Coinone and KakaoBank are still in talks on when to start their contract.
Nothing specific has been confirmed over whether Coinone will partner with the two lenders, or cancel the existing contract with NongHyup Bank after it expires.
Another source said that chances are the exchange will shift its partnership to KakaoBank.
"The company is unlikely to extend the contract with NongHyup, and will change it to KakaoBank for fresh synergy," the source said.
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