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Jan 12, 2018
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Important information arrives again from South Korea. The country may be introducing new regulations to cryptocurrency traders. According to Reuters, the South Korean government said on Thursday that its planning to ban cryptocurrency trading. The market is now operating negatively after the news spread.
South Korea Possible Cryptocurrency Trading Ban
South Korea has taken different regulatory measures in the cryptocurrency market during 2017. Cryptocurrency exchanges must fulfil different rules before being able to operate in the country. I addition to it, anonymous accounts are not able to keep trading and must be closed.
South Korean Flag
The government has warned several times about the risks in investing in cryptocurrencies. The high volatility, the possibility of being in a bubble and the criminal activities around the virtual currencies are just some comments done by some government officials.
“There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies and the justice Ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges,” said the Justice Minister Park Sang-ki.
The legislation will require a majority vote over 297 members of the National Assembly. This could take months or even years to be accomplished. But it is not clear whether the South Korean government will decide to pass it through the parliament.
Other countries like Japan could capture an important part of the South Korean market. Japan, has taken several measures to protect cryptocurrencies and allow them to spread. In fact, Japan’s GDP grown 0.3% more due to investors involved in cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency Market Down
At press time, just IOTA and Bitcoin Cash are operating positively in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Bitcoin has lost 1,78 percent in the last 24 hours. Ripple, after reaching $3.8 dollars some days ago, is being traded around $1.73 dollars. It is also losing 10% of its value in the last 24 hours. Ethereum, also after reaching an all time high is losing 11,45% of its price.
Can it Just be FUD?
Some experts in the field of cryptocurrencies are giving their opinions saying that the Government will not ban cryptocurrency trading. As reported by the local media, the cryptocurrency trading ban proposal does not represent the government’s belief. Furthermore, the government denies the cryptocurrency trading ban rumours.
OFFICIAL (just in) South Korea's Blue House (Exactly like US White House):
The #cryptocurrency trading ban proposal does not reflect the stance of the government. Denies cryptocurrency ban trading rumors.https://t.co/NLJZ4SZIZg
— Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) January 11, 2018
South Korea has an important market for cryptocurrencies. Indeed, it is the third country by trading volume in the world after Japan and the United States. The South Korean cryptocurrency market processes two times more volume than the country’s main stock market (KOSDAQ).
The government of the Asian country may be searching different mechanisms in order to regulate the market. But it is not searching to kill it. Taking Japan as an example, cryptocurrencies may bring important benefits to the country. Estonia, is also taking an open-doors policy towards cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings.
Image Courtesy of Pixabay
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