Hello HODLers,
I completely missed this information as I just became aware of it today. There is a very important deadline on September, 24th for crypto operators to comply before being forced to shut down.
Smaller exchanges and industry actors have contested these new requirements for the past year without success.
Estimates show that c.40 crypto operators out of 60 could have to shut down even if I expect this number to be overstated by South korean Crypto participants.
What does this new regulation want?
The obligation for ALL exchanges to show evidence that they are operating using real-name accounts at South Korean banks. The issue being that many local lenders have resisted doing so over fears og being exposed to money laundering.
First, South Korea is a big Cryptocurrency market with a tech savvy population and quite a sizeable Crypto Market. It is the 3rd market for Bitcoin and is even bigger than Japan.
It seems that Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone (90% of SK traded volume) already or are close to comply to the new regulation* and experts think this could make the market even more concentrated.
42 Kimchi coins are threatened!
You may ask: "What is a Kimchi coin?"
A Kimchi coin is a smaller altcoin listed on smaller platforms and traded against the Korean won. Some local experts expect a Crypto Bank Run as user realize that they have to sell and cash out their smaller coins because they might no longer be listed anywhere.
All these new measures are aimed (according to the regulator) to curb the enthusiasm for crypto trading from retail and younger investors.
What are your thoughts? Do we need all these regulations?
Stay safe out there...
Sources:
South Korea crypto crackdown to wipe $2.6bn from ‘kimchi coins’, FT
Majority of Korean crypto exchanges to shut down this month, insiders say