Bitcoin-backed bank loans in South Korea
Where it stands now. Jeonbuk Bank lends against bitcoin to corporate clients only, for operating funds, and says it may widen the scope later.
The record 1 development
Jeonbuk Bank starts South Korea's first bitcoin-backed corporate loans
What happened. Jeonbuk Bank, a subsidiary of JB Financial Group, launched South Korea's first digital asset-linked won loan service, Edaily reported on 12 October (via TechFlow). For now it is limited to corporate clients, accepts only bitcoin as collateral, and lends only for operating funds. The bank does not hold the bitcoin itself: a qualified custodian holds it, and on default the bank recovers the loan through court-ordered auction under the revised Civil Execution Rules.
Why it matters. CoinPost reported the loans were partly enabled by a civil enforcement rule change, which abmedia said took effect on 1 October. The bank said it will consider widening the scope later in response to regulatory changes and market demand.
- To value the bitcoin, the bank built its own system using a weighted average of prices from several global exchanges and a volatility median, so no single exchange can distort the price.
- Keeping the coins with a separate qualified custodian keeps custody risk away from the bank.
Read the originals (5), usually in their own language
- (no headline in the material) · TechFlow
- South Korea's Jeonbuk Bank first to offer bitcoin-backed loans, corporate clients only, first loan disbursed · ABMedia, headline translated by us
- A first for Korea! Jeonbuk Bank launches bitcoin-collateralised corporate loans, first loan approved · Zombit, headline translated by us
- South Korean bank lends to a business against Bitcoin for the first time · Coin68, headline translated by us
- South Korean regional bank starts won loans backed by bitcoin · CoinPost, headline translated by us