In light of the growing wave of speculation about the future of cryptocurrencies in South Korea, a blue house representative stated that, despite discussions of proposed regulations, there is unlikely to be a ban on the cryptocurrency trade in the territory.
According to the South Korean media Yonhap, the national government explained on Monday January 15 that it is still in the midst of internal consultations on the future of cryptoactives in the country due to the great concern expressed in recent days by citizens before the possibility of a generalized ban on the cryptocurrency trade.
Recently, the authorities of the country announced the beginning of the investigation of bank accounts related to cryptocurrency exchange houses, in search of participation in illicit activities and legitimization of capital by these companies. Among the entities inspected by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Financial Supervision Service (FSS) are Woori Bank, Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, NongHyup Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea and the Development Bank of Korea.
After these announcements, Bithumb and Coinone exchange offices claimed to have been intervened by the tax authorities to audit documents, accounting books, financial information and confiscation of hard drives.
CoinMarketCap.com, the main source for information on the cryptoactive markets, has also taken related measures and excluded from its analysis the prices of some South Korean exchange houses. Movement reflected a decrease in the value of a good part of the cryptoactives on the site without an apparent cause for it, thus causing a massive sale that brought down the entire market.
It is estimated that around 3 million people trade with cryptoactives in South Korea.