Domestic Game Companies' Cryptocurrencies in Crisis... Direct Hit from FTX Bankruptcy

Com2uS Holdings, Netmarble, Wemade, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] As FTX, one of the world's top three cryptocurrency exchanges, filed for bankruptcy, raising concerns about a potential 'Lehman Brothers crisis' in the crypto market, domestic game companies engaged in blockchain-based game businesses have also fallen into crisis. The value of cryptocurrencies issued by each company has sharply declined due to the aftermath of the incident, weakening the growth momentum of their businesses.

Domestic Cryptocurrencies Listed on FTX Take Direct Hit

According to cryptocurrency market site CoinMarketCap on the 17th, cryptocurrencies issued by domestic game companies have fallen by about 30-40% compared to June 6, just before the FTX crisis fully unfolded.

In particular, Com2uS Holdings' XPLA took a direct hit from the FTX incident. XPLA is the only cryptocurrency issued by a domestic game company that is traded on FTX, and currently, holders of XPLA on FTX cannot withdraw their tokens. It is known that the amount locked in FTX reaches as many as 32 million tokens.

XPLA, which was traded at 651 KRW per token on June 6, has plunged about 45% to 357 KRW currently.

Com2uS Holdings is currently reviewing various support measures to protect XPLA investors. The company is considering prioritizing the distribution of 20 million XPLA tokens reserved as a contingency to investors trapped in FTX.

Previously, Com2uS Holdings had allocated 20 million tokens as a reserve out of the total 2 billion XPLA tokens issued to prepare for such unavoidable situations. However, this requires approval from participants in the XPLA ecosystem and cooperation from FTX, so whether it can be practically implemented remains uncertain.

Com2uS Holdings emphasized, "The company has not made any direct investments related to the FTX exchange, so there is no financial loss," adding, "We are closely monitoring the current situation regarding FTX, and any additional decisions will be shared through official SNS channels such as Telegram, Medium, and Twitter."

"Concerns Over Prolonged Cryptocurrency Market Slump"

Netmarble's Mavrex (MBX) also faced adversity immediately after officially launching the 'MBX 2.0 ecosystem.' MBX 2.0 is a stage where various blockchain games are onboarded into the ecosystem, and infrastructure such as a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, launchpad, and swap services are opened. It aims to build a game-based blockchain ecosystem combining fun, convenience, and profitability based on high-quality blockchain games.

Mavrex planned to continuously expand the MBX ecosystem through the release of blockchain-based games including the global launch title 'King of Fighters Arena,' 'Modoo Marble: Meta World,' and 'RF Project.'

Contrary to Netmarble's ambitions, MBX's price is currently hitting the bottom. MBX was traded at 3,761 KRW on June 6 but has dropped about 35% to 2,462 KRW as of today.

Wemade's WEMIX faced consecutive setbacks, being designated as an investment caution item on domestic cryptocurrency exchanges last month, followed by the FTX crisis.

On May 27, WEMIX was designated as an investment caution item by the Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA), composed of five major domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. The main cause was a discrepancy between the disclosed circulating supply and the actual circulating supply during the process of depositing WEMIX as collateral in the DeFi (decentralized finance) service 'Cocoa Finance' to borrow the cryptocurrency Cocoa Stable Dollar (KSD).

WEMIX, which was close to 3,000 KRW per token at the end of last month, fell to 2,300 KRW on June 6 and is currently trading at 1,922 KRW, down another 17% from that price.

A Wemade official said, "We have fully repaid the KSD borrowed from Cocoa Finance to restore market trust," adding, "Although the FTX incident affected WEMIX's price, we are proceeding with our business normally."

For now, these domestic game companies plan to continue their blockchain businesses regardless of the FTX incident. However, concerns about a prolonged slump in the cryptocurrency market are growing due to the collapse of global exchanges, and significant ups and downs are expected.

In fact, a survey conducted on June 13 by cryptocurrency investment information sites Coinness and Kratos targeting 1,000 domestic investors showed that 63.7% of respondents answered that they have reduced or plan to reduce their coin investment ratio due to the FTX incident. Additionally, the largest group of respondents, 55.6%, predicted that it will be a negative factor that will shrink the virtual asset market for some time.