South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics is venturing into the blockchain and digital assets sector. The company announced the new business areas recently, but pointed out that it has not made any concrete move on either.
The new business direction was approved during a shareholdersโ meeting held last week. LG outlined that among its new objectives as it redefines its business would be โthe development and selling of blockchain-based softwareโ and โthe sale and brokerage of cryptocurrency,โ with the latter being hailed as an intent to launch a digital currency exchange.
However, as local mediaย reports, a company spokesperson declined to confirm whether LG is moving into theย digital currency exchangeย business.
โNothing has been decided yet,โ the spokesperson said, โWe just mentioned business areas in a broad manner.โ
LG is not new to the industry. In January, it announced that it would launch a line of smart TVs capable of buying and displaying NFTs. Notably, LG announced the move just a day after Samsung made a similar revelation at theย Consumer Electronics Show. Earlier this month, LG gave an update on its initiative, revealing it had partnered with Ground X, a Kakao-owned blockchain firm, to introduce a line of NFT-capable TVs.
The move into smart TVs on which users can purchase NFTs have been questioned by many, with NFT enthusiasts dismissing it as unnecessary.
โI donโt really see a point in there being an NFT trading platform on my TV. When it is still inconvenient to surf the internet on what you call a Smart television, I donโt think it will be a very pleasant experience buying an NFT on TV,โ one Korean NFT investorย observed.
Thats cool, but I just donโt see what their strategy is, I mean if youโre out and about and you find an NFT you want youโre first instinct probably isnโt the TV because a TV isnโt mobile. I only see this as Samsungโs way of cashing in.
โ KNNY (@0xKNNY) January 3, 2022
Should LG venture into the digital asset exchange, it will face stiff competition from Koreaโs dominant Big Four exchanges.
Upbit, owned by fintech giant Dunamu, is the market leader, with some estimating that it controls up toย 80% of the market shareย as Coinone, Bithumb, and Korbit control most of whatโs left. These exchanges have continued to enjoy economies of scale that allow them to easily comply with new regulations and offer the best services, effectively leading to the shutdown of most small exchanges.
Watch: CoinGeek New York panel, Investing in Blockchain Ventures
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