South Korean e-commerce company WeMakePrice said Monday that it is working to accept cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as one of its payment options, marking the first attempt by a major online shopping platform amid the ongoing cryptocurrency frenzy here.

WeMakePrice said talks are underway with Bithumb, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, to develop a system that can apply some 12 kinds of virtual currencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, to WeMakePrice’s online payment service called Wonderpay. 

The service will kick off as soon as the Korean government settles regulations and policies on virtual currency exchanges, such as minimum operating requirements, ethics regulation and consumer protection, the company said, adding that a launch date has not been decided. 

Despite cryptocurrencies becoming a global phenomenon, the volatile nature of the tokens have excluded them from being used for payments at conventional businesses.

WeMakePrice said it expects Bithumb’s platform as the main virtual currency exchange would allow customers to use virtual currencies as one of the actual payment options with efficiency, without having to go through banks or credit card companies’ networks. 

According to the company, when a Bithumb user decides to buy a product on WeMakePrice, Bithumb will finalize the real-time price based on the market value and immediately send the information to WeMakePrice’s Wonderpay to eliminate confusion over price fluctuation. 

Both companies have agreed to prohibit users’ purchasing of gift certificates on WeMakePrice to prevent illegal use. 

While the government has not acknowledged digital tokens as a legitimate currency, global IT companies have been open to the future of virtual currencies. 

The world’s largest e-commerce company Amazon recently purchased three crypto-related domain names, indicating its interest in considering cryptocurrency payments in the future. Another company, eBay, said it is “seriously considering” accepting bitcoin, in its report released last month.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)