Leading Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is terminating its trademark agreements with two currency trading platforms that operate overseas under its brand. The move comes as exchanges of digital assets in South Korea prepare to comply with the country’s stricter regulations for the industry, which will be implemented in September.
Bithumb Global and Bithumb Singapore will change their brand names as Bithumb Ends Trademark Agreements
Two cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb World and Bithumb Singapore, will not be able to use the Bithumb brand and trademark since the last day of this month. Bithumb Korea Co., Ltd., an operator of South Korea’s leading digital currency platform, announced its decision to terminate the Trademark License Agreements with the two entities.
According to the notice published this week, the final date for the contracts was set for Friday, July 30, 2021. The non-exclusive trademark licenses are valid for the use of the Bithumb logos and trademark, Bithumb detailed in the press release. The Korean company emphasized:
Please be aware that the aforementioned exchanges will not use the Bithumb brand and trademark after the deadline, and they must use their own brand and trademark afterwards.
The South Korean exchange showed that the two platforms function as independent foreign service providers, separate from Bithumb-Korea. Bithumb Global and Bithumb Singapore only borrowed the Bithumb Korea brand and trademark “to promote their initial business reputation through the use of the Bithumb brand.”
Bithumb is a major exchange of digital assets and with a score of 8.1, and it currently ranks first in South Korea and eighth in the world, according to the list of Coinmarketcap Top Cryptocurrency Spot Exchanges. The platform now has a daily trading volume of over $ 550 million. In early July, Bithumb Korea banned its employees from trading cryptocurrency and announced it would no longer accept registrations from foreign users as of August 13th.
Korea Crypto Exchange Faces Regulatory Challenges
In recent months, Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have addressed various challenges due to the changing regulatory environment in the country. Amendments to South Korea’s Special Funds Act, which went into effect this spring, require them to work with local banks to ensure merchants receive real name accounts before Sept. 24, when the new rules will be enforced.
However major banking institutions have been reluctant to work with the currency trading platforms, fearing exposure to money laundering, money laundering, fraud and other risks related to cryptocurrencies. Only the four largest exchanges – Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone and Korbit – have so far managed to establish such a partnership with commercial banks. NH Nonghyup Bank provides services to Bithumb.
Hundreds of smaller exchanges may have to close in September, as Financial Services Commission chairman Eun Sung-soo warned in April if they fail to secure a partnership agreement with a bank. Addressing the upcoming stricter regulations, a number of platforms, including Bithumb, have begun removing some “high-risk” digital currencies and issuing warning lists with others.
What do you think of Bithumb’s decision to terminate its trademark licensing agreements with Bithumb Global and Bithumb Singapore? Tell us in the comments section below.
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