The South Korean government is at it again.
As if their threats to regulate cryptocurrencies didn't put enough of a scare into the market roughly a week ago -- actions that resulted in one of the most bearish stretches in recent memory -- the South Korean regulators are at it again, banning the use of anonymous bank accounts to purchase cryptos starting January 30.
According to news reports, the government in the country -- which so far has been at the forefront of citizens investing in the currencies -- will no longer allow cryptocurrency traders to make deposits into their virtual online wallets unless the name on the bank account matches the name on record with crypto exchanges.
Crypto trading has been prevalent in the South Korean market, which has seen extensive trading not only in big names such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), but also early adoption of rising players such as Ripple (XRP). However, the government in the Asian nation has been threatening to bring down the regulatory hammer in recent weeks, and it appears they are ready to act on those threats.
For traders in that country, one must wonder if this is just the first step to tighter standards and regulations around trading cryptocurrencies. What could be coming next? It's unknown where the South Korean regulators may go from here, but considering they have warned of a complete banning of crypto, it shouldn't surprise anyone if they take moves to make it harder to trade going forward.
Caveat emptor, my friends.