In January,
Delio was granted Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) approval by the Korean
Financial Intelligence Unit.
Crypto-focused
finance company Delio has partnered with Blockdaemon to launch retail-focused
staking services, giving customers a more seamless way to earn rewards on their
digital asset holdings.
Delio’s
staking services expand its existing crypto-bank offerings, which include
lending, deposits and deposit accounts, the company announced Thursday. The new
service offering is powered by blockchain infrastructure provider Blockdaemon,
which provides a suite of institutional staking products.
While Delio
didn’t specify which crypto assets will be included in the new staking
services, Blockdaemon currently supports integration with over 60 blockchains.
Delio representative James Jung also clarified that the firm also plans “to
offer a variety of crypto asset financial services for users outside of
Korea."
Founded in
2017, Blockdaemon achieved unicorn status last year after securing $155 million
in a Series B funding round. In the startup world, a unicorn is a company that
achieves a valuation of $1 billion or more. At the time, Blockdaemon was valued
at just over $1.25 billion.
Meanwhile,
Delio appears to be expanding its crypto-finance offerings after receiving a
Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Korean Financial
Intelligence Unit. Delio claims to be the first crypto company in South Korea
to obtain a VASP for lending and deposit services.
Despite
market turmoil and controversy surrounding the collapse of the Terra ecosystem,
Korea remains a large and important player in the global crypto arena. As such,
President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office this past May, has adopted a favorable
approach toward digital asset regulation in the country. As reported by
Cointelegraph, Korea’s financial watchdog is looking to expedite the review of
13 crypto-focused bills tabled to the country’s National Assembly.