Nexon Japan Subsidiary Purchased Bitcoin Worth 113 Billion KRW (Comprehensive)

Owen Mahoney CEO "To Enhance Shareholder Value and Maintain Cash Asset Value"

Owen Mahoney, CEO of Nexon

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Nexon Japan subsidiary has purchased Bitcoin worth 100 million USD (approximately 113 billion KRW). Recently, domestic game companies have shown increasing interest in virtual currencies, which is analyzed to be due to the judgment that securing long-term growth drivers through the synergy effect of games and blockchain technology is possible.

According to Nexon on the 28th, the total number of Bitcoins purchased by the Japan subsidiary this time is 1,717, with an average purchase price of 58,226 USD (approximately 65.8 million KRW). This is slightly less than 2% of Nexon's total cash and cash equivalents.

Owen Mahoney, CEO of Nexon Japan, said regarding the Bitcoin purchase, "It is a strategy to enhance shareholder value and maintain the value of cash equivalents," and added, "In the current global economic environment, Bitcoin is expected to maintain stability and liquidity in the long term and preserve the company's cash value for future investments." A Nexon official explained, "The Bitcoin purchase is only to maintain the value of cash equivalents and is not intended to be used as in-game currency."

Nexon's strong interest in virtual currencies is already well known within the gaming industry. It is also considered a leader in investment in this field. Nexon's holding company NXC acquired Korea's first virtual currency exchange, Korbit, in 2017, and the following year acquired Bitstamp, Europe's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Last year, it also established its own financial transaction platform company, Aquis. Currently, it is also pursuing the acquisition of another virtual currency exchange, Bithumb.

Not only Nexon, but other domestic game companies are actively entering the virtual currency business. Gamevil recently decided to make a strategic investment in Coinone, one of Korea's top three virtual currency exchanges. The investment will be made by acquiring 13% of Coinone's existing shares, with a total investment scale of 31.2 billion KRW. Gamevil stated that the investment is to increase interest in blockchain technology and virtual currency platforms and to explore new business opportunities.

Another game company, Wemade, established a blockchain technology subsidiary called Wemade Tree, and recently listed the WEMIX token issued by this company on the virtual currency exchanges Bithumb and Biki. Wemade is also considering acquiring Bithumb.

Kakao Games incorporated the blockchain technology company WayToBit as an affiliate at the end of last year. WayToBit operates the blockchain-based digital content platform BORA. Kakao Games acquired some shares of WayToBit in 2018 and became the largest shareholder by additionally acquiring about 280,000 shares of WayToBit through exercising call options.

The reasons why game companies are actively investing in virtual currencies include the possibility of cooperating on hacking response security technologies when acquiring or investing in blockchain technology companies, and securing new business momentum. An industry insider said, "The overall atmosphere in the industry is that blockchain technology can be effectively utilized in the game industry," adding, "It will also help capture various future business opportunities derived from the virtual currency ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.