BDACS Inc., a prominent South Korean digital asset custodian, has completed a seed funding round with participation from Avalanche’s Blizzard Fund. Founded in January 2022 and located in Busan Metropolitan City – Korea’s only blockchain regulatory-free special zone – BDACS is poised to offer custody solutions for a wide spectrum of digital assets. Through the partnership, BDACS will support Avalanche to: 

• Offer AVAX and BTC.b as assets for institutional custody

• Provide staking support for the Avalanche P-Chain

On top of expanding the offerings on Avalanche and who can access them, BDACS plans to open up access to digital assets in Korea more broadly.

In Korea, there is no regulated Web3 infrastructure to enable efficient mobilization of crypto. The industry has been developed with major exchanges (e.g., UpBit, Bithumb), and each must partner with a regulated bank responsible for KYC/AML. This has created capital inefficient siloes, as users cannot navigate between exchanges unless they also hold a bank account with the respective bank partner for an exchange.  Moreover, only Korean retail clients can open accounts at Korean exchanges, eliminating direct market access for foreign clients or institutions.

As a leading regulated custodian, BDACS’ solution is to provide market access by integrating with Korean exchanges and enabling cross-mobility of assets across trading venues. 

Last November, BDACS achieved its ISMS (Information Security Management System) provisional certification, clearing the regulatory path toward a VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) license. With the capital raised, BDACS plans to launch its diverse range of services to domestic and international institutional clients. 

BDACS’ support of Avalanche comes on the heels of a big 2023 for Avalanche in East Asia, especially South Korea. In 2023, entertainment giant SK Planet launched an Avalanche Subnet acting as a Web3 portal for millions of customers interacting with its digital collectibles, Web3 wallets, and much more. SK Planet’s entertainment events and streaming subsidiary, Dreamus, uses Avalanche to power OK Cashbag, its loyalty rewards app with 21M users.

Partnering with Avalanche is a logical choice, given its significant and expanding presence in the Korean market,” said Terry Kim, CEO of BDACS. “With Korea at the forefront of security token regulation, there are clear opportunities for synergy to leverage the leading Avalanche protocol and our cutting-edge suite of multi-asset custody solutions. Through this collaboration, we look forward to providing businesses, institutions, and entrepreneurs in the Web3 space with the tools needed to thrive in Korea and internationally.

BDACS’ round was led by Prodigy Investment, an early backer of Dunamu Inc., operator of the leading cryptocurrency exchange in Korea, Upbit. Other participants include Blizzard, Mask Ventures, IDG Capital Blockchain, and O-DE Capital Partners.

“In Korea, with the Virtual Asset User Protection Act expected to take effect in July 2024, only regulated entities will be poised to offer crypto-related services to institutions and individuals,” said Lydia Chiu, Senior VP of BD at Avalanche and CIO of the Blizzard Fund. “BDACS is ahead of its competitors in compliance, licensing, and obtaining government approval for its initiatives. BDACS is positioned to become ‘the gateway to Korea’ for foreign investors who want exclusive, non-exchange access to Korea’s digital asset economy.”

About BDACS

BDACS is a leading digital asset custodian in Korea built for institutions, delivering a wide-ranging suite of digital asset custody services, emphasizing secure, regulated solutions for custody, trade settlement, and extensive market access in Korea and globally.

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About Avalanche

Avalanche is an ultra-fast, low-latency blockchain platform designed for builders who need high performance at scale. The network’s architecture allows for the creation of sovereign, efficient and fully interoperable public and private layer 1 (L1) blockchains which leverage the Avalanche Consensus Mechanism to achieve high throughput and near-instant transaction finality. The ease and speed of launching an L1, and the breadth of architectural customization choices, make Avalanche the perfect environment for a composable multi-chain future.

Supported by a global community of developers and validators, Avalanche offers a fast, low-cost environment for building decentralized applications (dApps). With its combination of speed, flexibility, and scalability, Avalanche is the platform of choice for innovators pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology.

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