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| A promotional image from Netflix drama "Squid Game" / Courtesy of Netflix |
By Anna J. Park
Bithumb Korea, one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges headquartered in Korea, has made a more than 100-percent profit from its investment into local media firm Bucket STUDIO, which is related to Netflix's latest global hit drama, "Squid Game."
The blockchain tech firm invested about 15 billion won ($12.6 million) into Bucket STUDIO's mezzanine financing in May and the investment helped it get about a 12.5-percent stake of the media company's shares. With the investment, the crypto exchange operator has become the second largest major shareholder in the media firm.
Bucket STUDIO holds a 15-percent stake in the entertainment management firm, Artist Company, the management company jointly founded by actor Lee Jung-jae, who starred as a major character in "Squid Game." Bucket STUDIO's stock price soared to 4,540 won at the end of last week, an increase of nearly 2.5 times in just one month, from 2,130 won logged at closing on August 31.
Bucket STUDIO's stock prices enjoyed bullish upward moves this month, reflecting the market's increased expectations concerning the actor's filmography, as the Netflix drama became a worldwide hit. Bucket STUDIO acquired a 15 percent stake in Artist Company back in July 2018 at the price of about 7.6 billion won.
With its stock price's recent surge, the monetary value of Bucket STUDIO shares held by Bithumb Korea have now more than doubled in the past four months, reaching around 37 billion won.
Bithumb Korea and Bucket STUDIO are upgrading their bilateral collaboration in various business models, from raising capital through mezzanine financing to establishing a joint venture commercial firm.
The two firms' close relationship is due to the complicated share structure that links the two firms. Vidente, the largest shareholder of both Bithumb Korea and Bithumb Holdings, is also a subsidiary of blockchain firm INBIOGEN, which is a subsidiary of Bucket STUDIO.
