Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), speaks during a briefing by FSC-affiliated institutions at Government Complex Seoul, Jan. 12. Courtesy of FSC
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has named two consortia — the KDX consortium led by the Korea Exchange and the NXT consortium led by alternative trading platform Nextrade — as operators of new over-the-counter trading platforms for fractional investment, officials said Friday.
Lucentblock, a startup operating a fractional real estate investment platform that had drawn attention after alleging procedural unfairness and misappropriation of technology, was eliminated after receiving the lowest marks, including in equity capital.
Mindful of the controversy surrounding Lucentblock’s claims, the FSC disclosed detailed scoring results in an unusual move, saying it had applied startup-friendly criteria and that Lucentblock fell short in several areas, including its business proposal.
Regarding the complaint Lucentblock filed with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) over alleged technology theft by Nextrade, the FSC effectively left the matter to the antitrust watchdog, stipulating that the final licensing review would be suspended if the FTC formally launches an administrative probe.
The approvals mark a step foward for the fast-emerging security token offering (STO) market, after the National Assembly passed amendments last month to the Capital Markets Act and the Electronic Securities Act, aimed at institutionalizing tokenized securities.
STOs incorporate fractional investments — shared ownership and profit rights in real-world assets such as real estate and art — into the formal financial system using blockchain infrastructure.
The FSC said that the NXT consortium topped the external evaluation with a score of 750 in the three-way competition, followed by the KDX consortium at 725, while Lucentblock received 653, leading to its elimination.
According to the regulator, the startup lagged in multiple assessment categories. Its capital base was significantly smaller than those of its rivals, and its plans for raising funds and securing contingency financing were deemed unreliable. Authorities also found that its business plan lacked a long-term operational road map as well as governance standards expected of a financial institution.
The NXT consortium received conditional clearance despite Lucentblock’s allegations of technology theft.
Source: Korea Times News
