Gaming giant Nexon in talks to acquire Bitstamp for $350M

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South Korean gaming behemoth Nexon is reportedly negotiating to take over Bitstamp, one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

Sources familiar with the deal told Business Insider that Nexon is planning to buy Bitstamp for price consideration of about $350 million.

Founded in 2011, Luxembourg-based Bitstamp has been the first cryptocurrency exchange to operate in the world. It currently ranks 13 among the biggest exchanges having over 50,000 trading accounts. Bitstamp allows trading between U.S. dollar and BTC. It also allows deposits and withdrawals of USD, EUR, BTC, Litecoin, ETH, XRP, and Bitcoin Cash.

Nexon is an international gaming company in South Korea formed in 1995, and has developed popular games like KartRider and MapleStory. It also offers game enhancements for players such as avatar customization and pets. Their interest in the cryptocurrency market started in 2017, when they signed a deal with Korbit, a South Korean exchange. Nexon bought 65 percent of the company stake for about $80 million.

The gaming industry has shown great interest in cryptocurrencies and virtual exchanges. On Monday, Razer, a gaming hardware company announced its intention to take over Malaysian-based e-payment firm, MOL Global. The merger will combine Razer’s zGold virtual credits business and the MOL Global’s MOLPoints virtual credit business, paving the way for Razer’s plans to create the world largest virtual credit platform for gamers. Earlier this year, Circle acquired a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex for $400 million.

While some gaming companies are taking over virtual exchanges, others have decided to create tokens to be used by players in their gaming platforms and other areas. In February 2018, Atari, a gaming company behind games like Pac-Man and Pong announced its plan to launch its own cryptocurrency, Atari Token. The token is intended to make it easier for gamers to make in-house purchases and reduce monetary risks for both players and the company.