It is no news that the state of the crypto market in 2018 has been unsettling, part of which is due to crackdowns in various nations. South Korea, however,seems to be one of the countries with a relaxed environment for crypto growth. Featuring highly evolved regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, the country has seen quite a number of crypto projects start up in the country. Experts believe that “these projects and their eventual success are indicators of what the new technology could do in the future.”

ICON Poised to Lead the Way in Legitimizing Crypto in Korea

To that effect, South Korea’s biggest project, ICON (ICX), appears to be poised to lead the way as it shows remarkable progressdespite the bearish atmosphere of the market. According to former head of research at Deblock, Markus Jun, the ICON appeared to be one of the coins that will be around for a long time. He explained that his time at ICON had coincided with “one of the worst downturns of the crypto market’. He highlighted that that point in time was not exactly easy on the coin as it meant every move made was scrutinized by investors and many major achievements were waived aside in favor of the echoing market sentiments.  He stated, while citing major international expansive moves made, that despite these challenges, the blockchain project showed remarkable progress. He pointed out that several ICO projects have had to quit in the face of these oppositions.

“[…]I’ve seen ICON push for significant progress in legitimizing blockchain andcryptocurrencies with the Korean Government, receiving the Minister Award forbeing an industry leader in the blockchain space, and launching demonstrationsand several projects in conjunction with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.”

ICON’s Partnership with Seoul Enumerating the various projects in place by the ICON, Markus Jun brought the ICON global accelerator program, ICONLOOP, along with its strategic partnership to focus.Aimed at becoming a blockchain hub, Seoul had been reported to have partnered with ICON. According to the ICON team, ICONLOOP’s partnership with Seoul is majorly to transform the city into a smart blockchain-based city. Markus Jun pointed out other partnerships with Line, Samsung and Jeju Island as a positive move made by the blockchain project. According to the Deblock’s former head of research, ICON is set to revolutionize the ICO space and bring about legitimizing cryptocurrencies in South Korea. This could, in turn, be catalyst to global crypto adoption in the future.