South Korea Close To Mandating Regulations For Bitcoin Exchanges

According to sources, South Korean authorities are closer to putting the last touches on the regulations for bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges. According to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), South Korea’s financial regulator and authority is now outlining the regulations that will finally allow cryptocurrency exchange to their rules.

As they said in the public announcement, the regulations for bitcoin exchanges are on the way to be confirmed. Last year, FCS chairman Yim Jong said that “The government will push for the systemization of digital currency on a full scale in tandem with a global trend in the US., Japan and other countries”.

Six months later, we are about to see South Korea in the list of the first countries that will systemize cryptocurrencies and treat the operation of crypto exchanges as ‘unauthorized fundraising’. Since cryptocurrencies aren’t recognized as a legal tender or a financial instrument, the regulations will chalk them under this category, opposed to the ‘eCommerce statutes’ under which they fall now.

However, the designation won’t outlaw the cryptocurrency exchanges. Instead, it will mandate the trading platforms and exchanges to follow certain rules and measures. In an official statement, FSC announced that:

“ Cryptocurrency exchanges will be required to maintain standards for consumer protection, such as having separate deposits for customers’ assets, and for increasing transparency, such as having a procedure for confirming customers’ identity. The authorities will also be empowered to prosecute exchanges that break these rules.”

At this point, the next move is on Korean authorities who need to regulate the cryptocurrency industry at a time when the country is among the most rising and developed market for cryptocurrencies.

 

In an ideal world, crypto exchanges should be transactions that are legal. What do you think – will such times come?