Large South Korean companies are investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain startups, and the country's leading cryptocurrency exchange is sponsoring sports projects.

Fn News reports that there is a boom in cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) investments, with giant companies such as Samsung, GS Retail, CJ, and Nexon leading the race.

Meanwhile, South Korean firms have been known to avoid investing directly in crypto-assets by investing in emerging projects.

Electronics giant Samsung is using its subsidiary Samsung Next to fund promising tech startups. The company has already invested in companies such as SuperLayer, which positions itself as a "cryptocurrency studio," U.S.-based social networking platform Nifty with non-interchangeable token integration (NFT), Vancouver-based gaming company Dapper Labs, Alchemy and others.

Gaming giant Nexon holding company NXC already owns exchanges Korbit and Bitstamp, and in recent months the company has invested in the Dubai-headquartered exchange BitOasis. The money is also invested in a Belgian crypto startup gas pedal.

GS Retail, which operates GS supermarkets and GS25 convenience store chains, backed a blockchain firm called Guhada. The companies have joined forces to create a blockchain-based quality management solution.

The CJ conglomerate, represented in the entertainment, food and pharmaceutical industries, is also supporting innovation through its IT services division, CJ OliveNetworks. The company funded a local first-generation blockchain company, Blocko, to develop an NFT-based ticketing solution that will help eliminate counterfeiting. The company hopes its efforts will help find future applications for NFT technology in the entertainment industry.

Upbit Dunamu, operator of the market-leading cryptocurrency exchange, intends to sponsor a new professional table tennis league that will debut next January and feature the top seven men's and five women's teams.