Chain Partners has acquired the “Class 4” license from the government of Malta that would allow it to legally deal in virtual financial assets .

Chain Partners, Korea’s first blockchain company builder, said Friday that its wholly-owned subsidiary in Malta would be able to operate a digital asset exchange and manage customer assets in Malta, a member of the European Union, with the license.

In an effort to foster its industry for digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, the Maltese legislature approved the Virtual Financial Asset Act unanimously in July and has been fine-tuning relevant rules. The law went into effect on Nov. 2. “Class 4” is the top-ranked license stipulated in the law, which would also enable the legal receipt of euros as well as cryptocurrencies. The law would also make it possible to legally provide a digital asset custody service for institutional customers.

Chain Partners said it would use the license to help expand the services of Daybit, a cryptocurrency exchange it opened in October.

“We are pleased to obtain the license in Malta that has emerged as the world’s top in digital asset transactions,” said Chain Partners CEO Pyo Chul-min, adding that Chain Partners and Daybit are making efforts to obtain a legal status in several countries, albeit slowly, but these efforts will pay someday.

The license acquisition is the first outcome the global management team of Chain Partners has achieved. Chain Partners established the global management team this summer, vowing to benchmark Daewoo Group that grew to be one of Korea’s big business groups after declaring the global management 30 years ago.

/Hyunyoung Park Reporter hyun@decenter.kr

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hyun@decenter.kr