The crypto exchange giant Binance will set up shop in South Korea’s “blockchain hub” city of Busan – and although the firm will not be opening a token trading platform in the nation as of yet, the company could help the city launch an exchange of its own.

In a press release, Binance announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the City of Busan that would allow the latter to “receive technological and infrastructure support from Binance for the development of the city's blockchain ecosystem and promotion of the Busan Digital Asset Exchange.”

The latter has been in the pipeline for some time, and city authorities envisage the creation of a kind of city-run stock market for certain types of cryptoassets, such as security tokens. This plan has remained very much on the drawing board for several years, with the government of President Moon Jae-in maintaining a hardline stance on all things crypto-related – particularly domestic token launches, which remain outlawed in all their forms.

But President Yoon Seok-yul, who took power earlier this summer, has promised to “review” the ban, and the public sector has already responded. SK, the second-largest business group in the nation, has already revealed plans to launch a token via one of its subsidiaries, and multiple South Korean industry insiders have told Cryptonews.com that other companies may well follow suit.

South Korean media outlets have also suggested that other large business groups are actively formulating their own token launch plans, albeit behind closed doors.

Busan was granted regulation-free status for blockchain-related technological developments under Moon’s government, but was hampered by the fact that Seoul insisted heavily on private