The blockchain community in South Korea under the platform, The Korea Blockchain Association (KBA) is planning a self-regulatory framework for cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea. Local media reports that the group will also review the state of exchanges in the country.
Seoul Finance reported that the committee set up for Self-regulation, headed by Jeon Jae-jin, will “focus on establishing the safety and transparency of the exchanges.” while predicting a smooth review of the exchanges.
The agreement to adopt self-regulatory standards was made by 23 exchanges out of the 33 exchanges which were members of the association. The 10 members who rejected the proposal were expunged from the association. The membership list of the association according to the news report include Glosfer, Neoframe, Nexcoin, Upbit, Bithumb, Gopax, Coinlink, Scoin, Whalex, Okcoin Korea, Zeniex, Kairex, Kcx Exchange, Komid, Korbit, Coinone, Coinzest, Coinplug, Crypto Company, Dexko, Korea Encryption, Money Exchange, and Huobi Korea.
Self-regulatory guidelines for South Korean Cryptocurrency Exchanges
The KBA, which was launched on January 26, is partnering with a Legal Consultants to the self-regulation guidelines which should be ready in a couple of weeks. The guideline is expected to include operation standards around the capital base of exchanges, consumer protection, and employee ethics. It will also consider recommendations from Korean Fair Trade Commission KFTC.
The planned review of the exchanges will access the security, coin listing procedures, capital and other investor protection.
Cryptocurrency Regulations in Korea and Asia
Like we’ve seen in Croatia and Japan, self-regulatory efforts like this are reached to supplement government efforts boost stability in the sector. The Korean government has been very active in its control of cryptocurrency businesses.
Recently, KFTC asked 12 crypto exchanges to review their consumer contracts in line with its recommended standards. South Korean Financial Service Commission (FSC) more recently cautioned three banks over non-compliance with its Know-Your-Customer and Anti-money Laundering policies for Cryptocurrency Exchanges.
Many cryptocurrency exchanges in are struggling to access banking services after the government implemented a ban on anonymous trading in the country. The KBA hopes that with the new guidelines, compliant exchanges will be able to get virtual bank accounts.
Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.
