South Korea to Soon Legalize Bitcoin and Ethereum, Protect Traders From Bubble Burst

makeithappen (61)in #bitcoin • 7 years ago

On July 3, Representative Park Yong-Jin of the ruling Democratic Party of South Korea announced that revisions on the regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin would be released in the upcoming months.

Three bills will be drafted and revised by South Korean lawmaker Park with the sole focus on legalizing Bitcoin and Ethereum. In the proposal obtained by local publications including The Korean Herald, Park emphasized the necessity to protect South Korean users, traders and investors from potential risks and the event of a digital currency bubble burst.

First step - revision of Electronic Financial Transactions Act
One of the first steps Park and his team will take in the process of legalizing Bitcoin and Ethereum is to revise the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, which will allow businesses and companies involving cryptocurrencies such as trading platforms and Bitcoin exchanges to retain capital of at least $436,000 and implement strict KYC and AML systems.

Such requirement will not be an issue for most South Korean Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges as they are backed by some of the country’s largest billion dollar corporations and global venture capital firms.

Korbit, the second largest digital currency trading platform in South Korea which supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Ripple, is backed by the country’s largest $19.2 bln telecommunications company SKT and SoftBank Ventures Korea.

Bithumb, the largest Bitcoin trading platform in the country, is operated by a public company called BTC Korea. It is currently looking to raise capital through a paid-in capital increase in the South Korean stock exchange. During its peak, Bithumb processed more than $750 mln worth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic and Ripple, solidifying its position as the largest trading platform in the country.

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