South Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb Launches Cryptocurrency Research Center 

On January 6, 2020, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb revealed that it had established its own research and development (R&D) center.

According to an announcement on the company website, the initiative makes Bithumb the first enterprise with a blockchain and crypto research center in South Korea.

Bithumb expressed high hopes for the research center’s impact on the company in a post that stated:

“Bithumb will become a leading company in the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem by strengthening its own R&D capabilities.”

The new R&D center will study system architecture design to strengthen public blockchain transaction analysis and cryptocurrency private key security.

Bithumb Research Team

The Bithumb team also plans to analyze blockchains to isolate crypto trading transactions and develop a system for user address generation that allows for deposits and withdrawals on its exchange.

Furthermore, the architecture research team will focus on high-performance transaction matching systems that can respond to large simultaneous orders.

The center’s purpose is to develop security enhancement technologies related to encryption, separation of functions, and implementation of verification systems that allow for the safe storage and use of private keys.

South Korea Increases spending on crypto-products

The launch of Bithumb’s R&D center highlights how more and more funds are being poured into crypto and blockchain research as the technology increasingly shows potential beyond the initial hype.

As we had reported just yesterday, the Presidential Committee for Fourth Industrial Revolution (PCFIR) advised the Korean Government to introduce bitcoin derivatives, unify the terms virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies into crypto assets, and list BTC on the Korea Exchange (KRX).

Daily crypto asset trade in South Korea reached a staggering figure of about $80 Million in 2019, prompting the commission to look into guidelines and licenses for crypto products and exchanges.

With the launch of a Bithumb research Centre, South Korea is set to be a global leader in research on high-availability and high-performance data exchange between blockchains and databases as well as the programming interface for cryptocurrency trading platforms.

More research expected in the blockchain field

According to a report published late last year by market research firm Global Market Insights, the global blockchain market is set to exceed $16 billion by the year 2024.

This will necessitate more research and development to launch the tech into the mainstream with practical and simplified use cases.

Bithumb’s R&D center launches just a few days after Tencent announced plans to create a digital currency research group for the further advancement of blockchain technology research projects.

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