Webtoon Platform Kakao Piccoma Buys 50% of Sakura Exchange in Japan

Kakao Piccoma, a Japanese digital comics subscription service and subsidiary of Korean internet company Kakao, has bought a 50% majority stake in Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC).

That makes Kakao the largest shareholder, and the deal is also expected to help Kakao offer cryptocurrency services on its Piccoma webtoon platform and aggressively expand into Web3, according to local media reports. Piccoma is the largest webtoon platform in Japan, and in 2021 the app accounted for $1 billion in consumer spending after six years in the Japanese market.

The amount Kakao paid for his stake in the stock has not been disclosed.

SEBC is one of only 30 crypto asset exchanges registered in Japan with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and contains 11 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Litecoin (LTC).

Related: Japan plans to tighten crypto exchange regulations to enforce sanctions

In mid-March, Kakao founder Kim Beom-soo, aka Brian Kim, stepped down from the board of directors to focus on the company’s affiliate brands, particularly the Kakao Piccoma brand in Japan. The SEBC acquisition is Kakao’s first merger and acquisition since Kim stepped down.

Kakao has shown interest in the crypto space before. Last August, Kakao launched two blockchain companies in Singapore, the Klaytn Foundation, a non-profit organization, and Krust, a global accelerator for blockchain technology adoption.

Kakao also runs a specialized blockchain subsidiary called Ground X, which won a digital currency (CBDC) tender from the central bank of the Bank of Korea in July 2021 and became the leading technology provider for blockchain-based digital mined simulations.

Previously, the company was also an early investor in the Upbit exchange, the first crypto exchange to file an application with South Korea’s financial regulators.

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