Key Notes
Woori Bank makes a crucial statement by demonstrating Bitcoin prices in its Seoul dealing room.
This marks further integration of TradFi and crypto and a significant advancement in the firm's crypto push.
Hana Financial Group and Dunamu signed an agreement to introduce blockchain technology to services such as overseas remittances.
On Dec. 5, South Korean multinational financial institution Woori Bank announced that it had begun to display the prices of Bitcoin in its main trading room in Seoul. It included won-dollar exchange rates and stock market data alongside.
Woori Bank Demonstrates Crypto Interest
The trading room is a meeting place for market makers, where frontline trading of foreign exchange, bonds, and derivatives takes place. An official of the bank noted that the initiative is in response to the growing prominence of crypto.
“As digital assets continue to grow in prominence and influence in global financial markets, we determined that they should be monitored as a key indicator to better read overall market trends,” the Woori Bank official stated.
Interestingly, the financial ecosystem has been seeing a subtle push towards the integration of the Traditional Finance (TradFi) system and digital asset markets. There have been quite a number of alliances set to spark such integrations.
Recently, American crypto exchange Kraken signed a strategic partnership deal with Deutsche Börse to bridge TradFi and crypto. Together, they intend to engage in trading, custody, settlement, collateral management, and tokenized assets.
Similarly, Hana Financial Group and Dunamu signed an agreement recently to introduce blockchain technology to services such as overseas remittances. Woori Bank is yet to hint at an alliance with a crypto company, but its announcement signals deep interest in the digital asset world.
Spot Crypto ETFs Bridges TradFi and Crypto
One of the ways that the TradFi sector has been integrating with crypto is through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Top asset management firms with billions in Assets under management (AUM), like Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, and Fidelity, have issued one or more crypto ETFs and are still looking to list more.
Related article: Bitcoin Price Tests $91,000 Support Again with $3.4B in Options Expiry: What's Next?
A few days ago, Franklin Templeton’s Solana ETF officially began live trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca platform. It was listed under the ticker “SOEZ,” while its XRP ETF, which went live earlier, was listed as EZRP.
