KB Bank to Launch South Korea’s First Bitcoin, Crypto Fund

KB Asset Management to utilize AI-based investment strategy research along with an outsourced chief investment officer to launch digital asset products.

• KB Asset Management launches Digital Asset Management Preparatory Committee to preemptively research digital assets utilizing AI-based investment strategy.
• Outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs) will be considered, including Fidelity and Grayscale.
• Asset management goals are low-correlation to traditional assets, principal guaranteed products backed by digital assets, and a digital asset index.

South Korea’s largest bank, KB Bank, announced its Digital Asset Management Preparatory Committee in a press release Monday.

The committee is a preemptive step towards the launching of related bitcoin and digital asset products, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and derivatives-based products, that will be determined by AI-based domestic and foreign market research.

Hong-Gon Kim, KB Asset Management’s lead for the Index Quant management division said, “We will launch virtual asset-themed equity funds as soon as possible. We plan to hold a virtual asset conference for customers and publish periodicals.”

KB intends to launch principal guaranteed products backed by bitcoin and cryptocurrency with the intention of diversifying away from traditional asset correlation in the retirement-pension and OCIO markets, while also developing an index for digital assets.

In discussing the possibilities of outsourced chief investment officers, KB mentioned two asset managers by name that have already entered the digital asset markets. Grayscale, which actively manages over $60 billion in assets and offers the popular Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), and Fidelity Asset Management, the $11 trillion firm that recently launched a bitcoin spot ETF in Canada, are among the considered managers.

With an OCIO, the asset management company that KB partners with will operate as a third-party wealth management provider or advisor. Cooperation with funds who have already successfully entered the space allows KB Asset Management to utilize their new committee and AI-based research to have a clean entrance into digital assets.

KB Asset Management maintains assets for KB Financial Group by offering diverse financial products, both on and off-shore, through traditional investments such as equities and fixed-income, and alternative investments, making them the largest Korean bank.