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The cryptocurrency frenzy is building up in South Korea despite the government warning and crackdown, spilling over to other minor coins and drawing more investment from platform operators.

Gamevil Inc., a Kosdaq-listed mobile game developer and publisher, disclosed Monday that it will acquire a 13 percent stake in CoinOne crypto exchange for 31.2 billion won ($28 million). Its purchase of a total of 87,474 shares is to be completed by June 11.

Gamevil will work with CoinOne on developing data processing and security technologies.

On Monday, Gamevill shares gained 6.75 percent to end at 53,800 won.

The Upbit Altcoin Index (UBAI), tracking cryptocurrencies other than the Bitcoin on the country’s leading virtual coin exchange, lost 3 percent upon the announcement of a pan-government crackdown on Monday. It closed Friday at 8,960.54, more than fivefold versus 1,707.52 recorded on Dec. 31, 2020. The index topped 9,000 on Saturday.


The price of ethereum, which makes up the largest 41.35 percent of all altcoin trades at Upbit exchange, has skyrocketed nearly 300 percent since the end of last year and closed last Friday at 3,141,000 won. Dogecoin, which came under global attention after Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweets, ended Friday at 467 won, marking a huge leap from late February when it joined the UBAI at 65 won. Dogecoin’s 24-hour trading volume topped 17 trillion won Saturday and outstripped the Kospi, Korea’s main stock market.

Altcoins have been strong also at Bithumb, another popular crypto exchange in Korea. The altcoin index at Bithumb came to 4,218 on Friday, up nearly five times from the end of last year.

Ethereum, accounting for 41.67 percent of altcoin trades at Bithumb, ended Friday at 3,129,000 won versus 814,500 won on Dec 31. Price of Ripple, the second-most popular altcoin with a 10.78 percent share, skyrocketed nearly 800 percent to 2,057 won over the same period.

Businesses are also raising their bet on cryptocurrencies.

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