South Korean listed IT services firm ITCEN Global will issue 40 billion won ($29 million) in convertible bonds to expand its platform for Web3 and security tokens, a move that anticipates a new digital asset framework expected later this year.
"Through this financing, we plan to stabilize our financial structure while ramping up investment in future new growth businesses, including STOs and Web3," an ITCEN Global official said. The company expects its Web3 business division to "move into full swing" if the institutional framework for digital assets is finalized in the second half of the year.
The investment comes from ITC Holdings, a limited liability company wholly owned by the KCGI Innovation Growth ESG No. 1 Private Equity Investment Joint Association, a 500 billion-won blind fund managed by local private equity firm KCGI. The deal provides ITCEN with capital to both pay down debt and position itself in the emerging digital asset market.
The move by a publicly traded company to secure significant funding for a Web3 venture highlights a broader strategic shift in South Korea. The country is grappling with significant capital flight, with an estimated $115 billion flowing from domestic crypto exchanges to overseas markets and dollar-backed stablecoins in 2025, according to industry reports. This has prompted President Lee Jae-myung’s administration to make a regulated, onshore digital asset market a national policy goal.
A Race for a Regulated Market
ITCEN's investment positions it within a competitive field of major Korean technology and financial players preparing for the new regulatory landscape. Naver Corp, one of Korea's largest internet companies, is in the process of acquiring Dunamu Inc., the operator of the country's largest crypto exchange, Upbit, in a deal valued at over $10 billion.
Meanwhile, fintech giants like Kakao and Toss are also developing their own stablecoin and digital wallet infrastructure. The investment by a respected private equity manager like KCGI into a public company's crypto strategy serves as a key vote of confidence.
"We decided to invest because we strongly agreed with ITCEN GLOBAL's stable IT services and its preemptive business expansion strategy in STO and Web3," a KCGI official said. "We will become long-term partners that together establish a new standard for Korea's digital finance infrastructure."
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
