Korea blockchain developer Iconloop gets $8m
Iconloop, a Seoul-based blockchain technology developer focused on digital currency services, has raised a KRW10 billion ($8 million) Series A round led by Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC).
The round was supported by TS Investment, a local venture capital firm that has made a number of similar investments in recent months. These include SigmaChain, a consortium for blockchain developers, and Blockpet, a social media platform for pet owners and developer of pet identity verification technology.
Founded in 2016, Iconloop operates across a range of financial services related to digital authentication and smart contract-enabled transactions in fields such as e-commerce, insurance, healthcare, and sharing economy businesses. The company’s core product, known as Loopchain, is marketed as a platform that helps enterprise customers speed up blockchain-based transaction processing and optimize their control over related operations.
The company will use the fresh capital to build out its “my-ID” security service and expand a related ecosystem that currently encompasses 27 organizations and corporations, including banks, online retailers, and manufacturing companies. Additional operations include Chain ID, a mobile-accessible security tool branded as “the world’s first blockchain joint authentication service.” Chain ID is said to be in use by 26 local companies, including Kyobo Life.
“Blockchain technology is evolving into practical applications such as decentralized ID services in line with the global trend giving users back personal data sovereignty,” the Venture Investment Center at KOTEC, said in a statement. “Iconloop [has] acquired technological advantages and knowhow from many major projects with various financial and public organizations, and it will lead the growth of the blockchain industry in Korea after it dominates the market with its my-ID service.”
Korea is considered one of the only jurisdictions globally where the use of cryptocurrency has attracted a mass market, with some industry participants estimating that up to one-third of the population engages with the technology. This is despite a 2017 ban on virtual currency fundraising exercises, known as ICOs.
Recent activity in this space includes the launch of a $10 million token fund by Line Corporation’s blockchain business LVC that will be managed by Unblock, a Korean subsidiary of Line.
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