One of the leading financial institutions in South Korea – Kookmin Bank (KB) – intends to offer cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures products to retail investors. If successful, it will become the first local bank to do so. First Crypto ETFs in South Korea Cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are financial instruments that track the...Read More
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a bid to develop a strategic partnership with prominent South Korean multinational entertainment corporation – YG Entertainment Inc. (YG). Binance – YG’s Strategic Partnership According to the official blog post, the two companies will collectively work on a myriad of blockchain...Read More
The central bank of the East Asian country – Bank of Korea (BoK) – has reportedly carried out the first stage of its two-part mock testing of its CBDC in December. The institution also revealed that the project is currently running its second phase. CBDC on Its Way in Korea The Bank of Korea successfully...Read More
Rep. Lee Kwang-jae – a member of the ruling Democratic Party in South Korea – is reportedly planning to receive campaign donations in digital assets. He also intends to issue non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a receipt for such contributions starting from mid-January next year. Crypto to Fuel Political Campaigns According to a December 30 report...Read More
At the stage of the 2021 Global ETP Conference, Sohn Byung-doo stated that the digital asset industry is not very different from capital markets. The exec emphasized the need for investor protection and transaction stability support. The KRX Chief Wants To Study Crypto So far, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies remain outside the domestic regulatory scope that...Read More
The investment company – SK Square – has reportedly invested 90 billion won ($75.5 million) to acquire a 35% stake at the digital asset exchange Korbit. By doing so, it became the second-largest shareholder at the South Korean trading venue since Nexon’s holding company – NXC – owns 48%. SK Square Expands to The Crypto...Read More
The People Power Party – the opposition party in South Korea – has reportedly proposed a one-year delay on the upcoming taxation rules on trading with digital assets. The lawmakers also intend to revise the tax rate percentage suggesting that investors who generate profits of more than $42,000 should pay 20%, while the initial legislation...Read More
South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges that cannot meet up with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) registration exercise are mandated to inform their customers before midnight today that they will be shutting down operations a week before the September 24, 2021 deadline. The affected trading platforms have been instructed not only to inform their customers that they...Read More
The ruling Democratic Party of South Korea intends to delay the upcoming taxation policy of digital assets. According to the officials, taxing bitcoin and altcoin investors still lacks proper infrastructure. Delaying The Crypto Taxation The Democratic Party of South Korea has objections in regards to the upcoming law that plans to start taxing gains made...Read More
Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman nominee Koh Seung-beom opined that digital assets would not work successfully as financial instruments. He went further, stating they “could not function as a real currency.” Are Digital Assets Real Money? Koh Seung-beom – nominated by the Korean President to be the next Chairman of the FSC – expressed his...Read More
Ripple announced that one of the leading non-bank remittance service providers in South Korea – Global Money Express Co. LTD (GME Remittance) – had joined its network. As a result, the financial institution can now connect to Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and initiate payments between South Korea and Thailand. GME Looking to Expand According to...Read More
11 mid-sized cryptocurrency trading venues in South Korea will reportedly cease their operations after the country’s watchdog identified that they operate their businesses illegally. The names of the exchanges remained undisclosed. Chain of Reaction in South Korea According to a recent report by The Korea Held, 11 mid-sized cryptocurrency platforms will soon shut down as...Read More
Foreign virtual asset services providers (VASPs), including cryptocurrency exchanges operating in South Korea, have until September 24th, 2021, to register with the local regulator. Otherwise, they risk being blocked from providing services to Koreans, said the Financial Services Commission. Crypto Exchanges Might be Blocked in Korea? As reported by CryptoPotato earlier this year, the Asian...Read More
One of the largest financial institutions in South Korea – Woori Financial Group – will offer crypto custody services to its clients. Its banking unit – Woori Bank – will launch the initiative in a partnership with the fintech solutions provider – Coinplug Inc. Woori Bank Dives into Crypto According to a report from The...Read More
Seoul’s Central Customs has started investigating 33 people involved in illegal overseas cryptocurrency transactions worth 1.69 trillion won or roughly $1.5 billion. The authorities have already fined 15 individuals and started prosecuting 14 of them. The remaining 4 suspects will be a subject of further investigation. IIlegal Transfers for Around $1.5B The daily newspaper in...Read More
The forthcoming regulations in South Korea, which will require exchanges to have a real-name account at a local bank by September, might push many smaller trading platforms out of business. They are reportedly planning to fight back by suing the government. CryptoPotato reported before that the Korean government plans to implement a new rule on...Read More
The authorities of South Korea confiscated the cryptocurrency holdings of 12,000 people. The locals received charges of tax evasion, and 53 billion won or $47 million worth of BTC, ETH, and other digital assets were seized from them. The Largest Crypto Seizure for Back Taxes in Korean History Following a months-long investigation, the officials in...Read More
Several top cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea have engaged in a mass delisting of many of the altcoins they offer to foster their relationships with banks. Crypto Exchanges Partnering With Banks According to a Tuesday report by a local media outlet, South Korean exchanges are taking these steps to strengthen their chances of partnering with...Read More
South Korea continues to enforce stricter rules on the cryptocurrency space with the latest legislation to classify exchanges as high-risk entities. The move comes as the Asian country aims to enhance the monitoring of financial transactions and user ID verifications. The Korea Times reported that the Financial Services Commission (FSC), South Korea’s financial watchdog, has...Read More
The Solana Foundation has partnered with the large South Korean blockchain accelerator ROK Capital to launch a $20 million fund. It aims to develop the Solana blockchain ecosystem by enhancing various projects, including those related to DeFi, NFTs, and Web3. Solana and ROK Capital Launch a $20M Fund Founded in 2017, Solana is a web-scale...Read More
BitMEX announced a $100,000 grant for the Korean-based Bitcoin scaling researcher – Calvin Kim. Furthermore, the crypto derivatives exchange informed about an additional $50,000 donation from its partner – the Human Rights Foundation. BitMEX’s $150K Renewal In a recent statement, the popular Bitcoin derivatives trading venue BitMEX announced it had renewed Calvin Kim’s developer grant...Read More
South Korea announced plans to establish a pilot program examining the possibility of developing and launching a digital version of the won. The country’s central bank will focus on how the CBDC will work with mobile payment transactions, internet banking, saving accounts, transferring funds, and more. South Korea CBDC Pushes Forward According to a recent...Read More
Korea’s central bank is looking to move forward with the implementation of a central bank digital currency at a slow but sure pace. According to information revealed by the Korea Herald on Monday, May 24, 2021, the Bank of Korea is working on implementing a virtual environment that would allow to evaluate, control and test...Read More
The significant rise of the altcoins in price and popularity has raised concerns among South Korean officials. The nation’s bank association has advised its members to investigate the rapidly growing number of alternative coins available for trading on crypto exchanges. South Korea Warning for Altcoins Although bitcoin is well in green since the start of...Read More
The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange platform V Global was accused of luring 40,000 people into illicit multi-level deceit. The entire scheme amounts to more than 1.7 million won, which equals $1.5 billion. The Investigation As reported by the Korean officials, the police raided many places in the country related to a virtual cryptocurrency exchange, and...Read More
With the impending taxation of cryptocurrency gains in South Korea, a recent poll showed that most citizens are in favor of such a rule. When it came down to age, though, the younger generations were significantly less opened to the idea of getting taxed for their crypto trading. South Koreans Support Crypto Taxation The East...Read More
South Korea continues to reaffirm its grip on crypto regulations as the country’s regulator has ordered all of its officials to report their digital asset holdings. Additionally, the nation’s Financial Minister said that South Korea will “inevitably” impose taxes on gains from virtual asset trading next year. FSC Employees to Report Crypto Investments The East...Read More
Less than two years after launching, OKEx Korea has decided to shut down its services to South Korea-based customers. Although the company failed to explain why, the closure comes amid new regulations imposed by South Korea towards exchanges. Earlier today, OKEx Korea published a termination notice informing that the cryptocurrency exchange will shut down its...Read More
On the flip side of growing bitcoin adoption, the digital asset is being used to elude taxes in Korea. The intensified effort of the country’s tax agency towards curbing the menace is yielding results, according to a recent report. Nothing is Hidden Under The Chain Last month, the Korean government finalized its decision to levy...Read More
Just a few days after news broke that Morgan Stanley will enable its institutional clients to buy bitcoin, the giant investment bank has reportedly started negotiations to purchase a stake in the largest South Korean cryptocurrency exchange – Bithumb. According to coverage from the Asian media website Naver News, Morgan Stanley is the latest prominent...Read More
