Finance

Digital asset institutionalisation picks up pace as big platforms clash over entry into online lending industry

Cooperation between traditional financial firms and crypto-asset operators is expanding, with moves by Kakao Group, brokerages and exchanges. In the United States, the OCC gave preliminary approval to two digital banks pursuing crypto custody and stablecoin business. In South Korea, the Democratic Party plans to draw up a Digital Asset Basic Act this year. Competition is also shifting across platform finance, raising questions about entry rules, conflicts of interest, consumer choice and security.

AI & Enterprise

SKT launches AI for Everyone consortium to link AI services across eight sectors

SK Telecom will step up development of “AI for Everyone” by working with specialist companies and institutions across eight sectors including finance, education, healthcare, small businesses and mobility. The company said it held the consortium’s launch event on Sept. 9 at its T Tower in central Seoul. The project aims to build an end-to-end execution agent that analyses user requests and situations, connects suitable AI models and specialist services, and carries out follow-up work.