K-popStarpic Partners with SosoBank to Build a Fan Finance Platform... Expanding Blockchain-Driven Copyright Tokenization

K-pop’s global fan platforms and digital finance sectors are joining forces to create a new ecosystem for growth. On the 17th, the SosoBank Preparation Committee signed a business agreement with K-popStarpic, a global K-pop fan platform. This partnership aims to combine technology and content to expand both the operational experience of global platforms and K-pop fan culture. By integrating SosoBank’s digital finance infrastructure with K-popStarpic’s global fan network, it is expected to provide a foundation for expanding financial services focused on small and medium-sized businesses into global markets. K-popStarpic is a competitive fan platform with over 3 million cumulative downloads, users in 180 countries worldwide, and approximately 90% of its users coming from overseas. It offers various interactive services such as birthday events, popularity voting, and fan content creation, and is growing at a rapid pace, with projections indicating it will surpass 10 million cumulative downloads by next year. Notably, it supports an offline mode that can be used without an internet connection, improving accessibility for global users. Lee Seung-ju, CEO of CO Global Partners, said, “The global fan platform built around K-popStarpic and our Web3.0 technology capabilities align naturally with SosoBank’s direction for financial innovation. Through our collaboration, we will create a new financial and cultural ecosystem where users worldwide can participate.” Meanwhile, K-pop copyright tokenization projects utilizing blockchain technology are also expanding. Aria Protocol, a blockchain startup founded in January of this year, is developing a platform that tokenizes intellectual property (IP) to make it tradable. This technology enables fans, investors, and institutions to gain direct exposure to underlying IP assets. By the Korea Intellectual Property Institute, if domestic music copyrights could be securitized and traded, the market size could reach 22 trillion won (approximately $14.9 billion). This figure is nearly 10 times the export value of South Korea’s music industry in 2024, which was around 2 trillion won. Although intellectual property is valued at approximately $60 trillion in global markets, its low liquidity and opacity have led to high expectations for increased trading through blockchain technology. David Costiner, co-founder of Aria Protocol, explained, “Rights holders can receive additional royalties when creating derivative content such as remixes, without having to draft separate contracts with every collaborator. Investors can also directly benefit from the cultural and financial value of IP that grows through derivatives like remixes or adaptations.” Aria Protocol’s first Seoul meetup, held on November 1st, saw attendance of over 1,200 people, reflecting strong market interest.