SK Square to Launch Crypto Token for Ifland Metaverse
The investment arm of SK Group, a South Korean conglomerate specializing in a broad range of tech products and more, has announced plans to spend $1.6 billion on semiconductors and blockchain over the next three years. SK Square will launch its own crypto token before the end of the year as part of a new blockchain economic system across SK Telecom's Ifland metaverse as well as its affiliates' internet services.
Announced earlier this month, the Ifland metaverse service will be available in 80 countries this year. SK Telecom has received more than 1,500 requests for partnerships in Korea and has plans to open up the platform to enable user-generated content as well as a blockchain-enabled virtual marketplace.
SK Square was spun off from SK Telecom in November, and has already made crypto investments including acquiring a 35-percent stake in crypto exchange Korbit worth $75 million. The company already holds a 20-percent stake in memory chip maker SK hynix and was instrumental in SK hynix's deal to buy Toshiba's memory chip operation in 2018. It also had a hand in a $7 billion deal in December to acquire Intel's solid-state drive business assets and NAND flash operations.
SK Square company now plans to invest in chip companies in the US and Japan across the global semiconductor value chain, with a focus on blockchain and digital assets. The company said it is open to collaborating with investors at home and abroad on co-investments in chips, blockchain and more.
“This will mark the first year when SK Square creates new shareholder value by investing in chips and blockchain, the fields that we are familiar with and we see a high growth potential,” said Park Jung-ho, CEO and vice chairman of SK Square.
SK Square will also release a white paper explaining its new digital coins, with plans to issue the new cryptocurrency before the third quarter. The company's other investments include interests in Onmind, a virtual human maker backed by Kakao, as well as Green Labs, an agricultural technology firm. The company also has investments in 11st, an e-commerce platform; One Store, an app store operator; SK Shieldus, a security device maker; Incross, an advertising company; and T Map Mobility, a mobility service firm.
Edited by Maurice Nagle
