LG’s New Business Plans Include Blockchain and Crypto

South Korea-headquartered LG Electronics has added blockchain and cryptocurrency to its business portfolio.

LG’s Blockchain and Crypto Game Plans

At the Annual General Meeting on March 24, LG Electronics’ shareholders approved “blockchain-based software” development and “sale and brokerage of cryptocurrency” as two new business areas.

Although LG has included the sale and brokerage of cryptocurrency in its business charter, it doesn’t seem to be opening a digital exchange just yet. Replying to a question if the company plans to open a trading platform for digital assets, a company spokesperson said, “Nothing has been decided yet… We just mentioned business areas in a broad manner.”

However, LG Electronics has been working with the blockchain company GroundX and NFT solution provider Seoul Auction Blue to introduce Smart TVs with NFT features, a version of which was introduced last month, according to a local news report.

In the past year, LG has exited from smartphone and solar panel businesses proving to be unprofitable. However, the firm is the fourth largest company in South Korea. It recorded an annual turnover of $63.16 billion and an operating profit of $3.27 billion in 2021.

LG, Samsung Align With Emerging Technologies

The adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrency as new business areas by LG is in line with the growing trend of top companies aligning their business development goals with emerging technologies.

Samsung, the largest among the South Korean companies, recently announced that it would integrate an NFT Aggregation Platform into a new series of Smart TVs it plans to introduce later this year. This feature will present NFT marketplace data on the users’ TV sets, which can also be used to view their digital collections as well as buy new ones.

The adoption of blockchain-powered businesses and features by South Korean companies such as Samsung and LG Electronics comes on the back of an overall crypto-friendly environment in the country after the victory of Yoon Suk-yeol in the recently-concluded presidential election.

During his election campaign, Yoon Suk-yeol promised to allow ICO and provide tax relief on crypto income. He will assume office in May this year.

Part of Growing Crypto Adoption Trends

In the last few months, several leading companies have taken initiatives keeping in mind the opportunities that cryptocurrency and NFT offer. For example, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) filed a trademark application with US Patent and Trademark Office for digital exchange and NFT marketplace last month.

In a similar vein, Apple introduced features in its iPhones that allow crypto payments through cards provided by merchant banks.

Featured Image Courtesy of Eurovent