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NH Investment & Securities Files Trademark for 'N2 Coin'… Entry into Cryptocurrency Business?

[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that NH Investment & Securities005940 filed a trademark application for 'N2 Coin' in July. The N2 Coin trademark is currently pending examination. The designated goods for N2 Coin are related to cryptocurrencies (virtual assets) such as digital assets and blockchain. This is interpreted as NH Investment & Securities having the cryptocurrency business in mind when filing the trademark. However, NH Investment & Securities stated that it is not currently pursuing any cryptocurrency projects.

According to the patent information service KIPRIS, the designated goods for N2 Coin include: △downloadable computer application software for cryptocurrency, △downloadable electronic wallets, △software for digital asset management, △security token retail services, △virtual currency brokerage, △cyber currency issuance, and △electronic wallet payment services. These are all businesses related to cryptocurrency.

N2 is a new brand introduced by NH Investment & Securities last year. In June of last year, NH Investment & Securities changed its Exchange Traded Note (ETN) brand name from QV to N2. Previously, ETNs issued by NH Investment & Securities used the prefix QV in their stock names, but now they use N2. In September of this year, the brand displayed on NH Investment & Securities' Home Trading System (HTS) and website was also changed from QV to N2. Yoon Byung-woon, CEO of NH Investment & Securities, stated, "As N2 is a brand that intuitively reminds people of NH Investment & Securities, we expect it to be highly effective for communication with customers," adding, "We plan to expand our brand awareness by utilizing N2 across various touchpoint channels."

Some speculate that NH Investment & Securities is attempting to venture into new cryptocurrency-related businesses through N2 Coin. The analysis suggests they are aiming to expand their business territory with the N2 brand at the forefront. However, it does not appear easy for NH Investment & Securities to enter the cryptocurrency business immediately. The financial authorities issued guidelines prohibiting Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in September 2017, and these guidelines remain in effect today. For NH Investment & Securities to issue cryptocurrency, it would have to do so abroad rather than domestically.

Establishing a cryptocurrency exchange is also difficult. To establish a cryptocurrency exchange, one must pass the scrutiny of financial authorities. However, the financial authorities follow the principle of "separation of finance and virtual assets" (separating traditional financial operators from virtual asset operators). For this reason, no major domestic financial firm is directly conducting cryptocurrency-related businesses. That said, this separation is not explicitly stipulated by law.

NH Investment & Securities also stated that nothing has been decided regarding the cryptocurrency business at this time. An official from NH Investment & Securities explained, "We are not trying to enter the cryptocurrency business; we simply registered the trademark in advance just in case we might engage in related businesses in the future."