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Bybit decides to shut shop in South Korea

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Similar to every other regulator across the globe, South Korean regulators decided to mandate the need for a license. Bybit, a prominent crypto exchange decided to steer away from the region just while the final date to apply for a license was looming.

The cryptocurrency industry witnessed massive growth over the last couple of years. The drastic change from its nascent to its current stage had left the whole world in awe. Financial regulators, however, feared that cryptocurrencies could hamper the existing dynamics of the monetary world. This further pushed regulators into heavily scrutinizing the crypto market and exchanges seemed to be highly impacted by this.

The regulatory environment in South Korea has been hazardous for the last couple of days. With new regulations in place, over 60 crypto platforms were urged to alert their customers of either a full or partial suspension on trading. Exchanges operating in South Korea were obligated to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit by 24 September.

With this deadline just days away, Bybit decided to discontinue a few of its services in the region. These services were deemed important for the exchange to survive in the country.

Bybit to halt two major services in South Korea

In a recent announcement, Bybit stated that it would discontinue two services including its support for the Korean language on all its platforms and the official Korean community on social media. Both these features would be shown suspended from 20 September 2021.

Almost every exchange believes that regulations are needed in the crypto-verse. Bybit went on to address the same and asserted the reason behind its latest decision. The exchange stated,

“Bybit believes that regulations are necessary for the democratization of cryptocurrency. Bybit accepts its responsibility as an exchange and an industry leader in actively cooperating with regulations implemented by various jurisdictions to promote financial inclusion and develop the overall crypto industry.”

Additionally, the exchange noted that all other services would function as usual. However, Bybit also affirmed that it supported no Korean won markets as the exchange had no trading pairs that entailed the Korean won.

With Korea’s big crypto takedown underway, only a few exchanges like Upbit, Coinone, Bithumb, and Korbit have reportedly been allowed to function as they have fully complied with the local regulations.

Tron Foundation partners with Korea’s first multi-chain decentralized NFT wallet

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NFT space has been soaring higher than ever. Running parallel to this trend, the Tron Foundation has announced completing integration with Korea’s first multi-chain decentralized NFT wallet, Talken. While Tron is yet to release an official statement on the latest partnership, it took Twitter to reveal that as Talken completes the deployment of Tron, the two parties will explore ways to offer the TRX ecosystem users “a special joint NFT with commemorative significance and circulation value.”

The duo will also offer the token holders with additional perks to encourage Talken’s ecosystem development. The Justin Sun-led foundation’s tweet regarding the same read,

“We are pleased to announce that we have reached a strategic partnership with the NFT infrastructure Talken. We will strive to build an NFT world with a wide range of content without borders, jointly provide digital creators and collectors with better tools and services!”

Tron’s strengthening its foothold in the NFT space

The latest development comes after the foundation formed a strategic partnership with the NFT social platform called DeFine in August. As reported by TWJ earlier, the main objective behind the integration was to explore the TRX ecosystem and let all creators including artists, musicians, influencers, gamers, and athletes to engage and interact with their respective fanbase with digital assets such as non-fungible tokens and social/fan tokens.

A few weeks later, the social NFT platform revealed receiving a strategic investment from the Tron Foundation. DeFine had also announced that the capital raised by the platform will be deployed to scale products, NFT multi-chain ecosystem expansion, and the exploration of NFT-Fi and Metaverse.

Tron Foundation has been very vocal about venturing into the NFT marketplace and its ambitious roadmap to expand its footprint across the space. The TRX ecosystem aims to streamline comprehensive and efficient infrastructure to convert artworks as NFTs on the blockchain. In line with this, the blockchain network had previously launched its first-ever non-fungible token standard TRC-721.

Crypto not a financial asset, suggests potential Korean financial regulator

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While the entire world has started to view crypto as a promising industry, the nominee for the Korean Financial Service Commission [FSC], Seung-beom Koh,  believed otherwise.

Cryptocurrencies caught the eye of many this year. The industry was seen trying to successfully cut off ties with the dark web as it garnered recognition in the real financial world. With people pouring into the industry, the government began laying its focus on the crypto market while trying to regulate it. Some governments were glad to welcome digital assets into the monetary sphere, however, a few others continued to express distress over these assets.

Seung-beom Koh, the potential chair of the Korean FSC, suggested that it would be challenging to recognize crypto as a financial asset.

Crypto fails to meet the standards of a financial asset?

Addressing a recent press meet, the FSC chair nominee pointed out that officials from organizations like the International Monetary Fund [IMF], G20, and a few others wouldn’t categorize crypto as a financial asset. Koh stated,

“I understand that the Group of 20, the International Monetary Fund, other international agencies and a considerable number of experts find it difficult to see virtual currencies as a financial asset, and think they could not function as a currency.”

The interest in digital assets has surged in almost every region. In Korea, young people have reportedly been pouring funds into the market with hopes of achieving high returns. This is in light of the increasing household credit which has been showing the Korean economy in a bad reflection.

Koh with his potential take-over as the FSC chair hopes to diminish this surge in household debt. Speaking about the same Koh added,

“The FSC will push ahead with existing anti-debt measures and come up with additional steps, if needed, by mobilizing all available policy means.”

Korean Won [KRW] trading pairs are the latest to lose a spot on Binance

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Binance has bid adieu to an array of things over the last couple of months and Korean Won [KRW] trading pairs happened to be the latest to leave the platform.

One of the world’s most popular crypto exchanges, Binance had fallen under the purview of regulators from across the globe. The exchange had to deal with extreme scrutiny from these financial watchdogs. While the pressure persists and as the exchange continues to tackle them, it was seen discontinuing several services or support for certain assets.

Regulators from Japan, UK, Singapore, and the Cayman Islands were seen calling out Binance for operating in their respective regions without a proper license. Following this, the exchange lost prominent banks like Barclays in the UK and had also temporarily seized GBP withdrawals.

Now, in an effort to comply with the South Korean financial regulators, the exchange revealed that it would no longer support Korean Won trading pairs.

Korean Won shown the door

In a recent blog post the cryptocurrency exchange pointed out that would discontinue an array of offerings in Korea. This list included, the Korean Won trading pairs, KRW payment options, P2P merchant applications as well as Korean Language website support. KRW trading pairs would lose prominence in the Binance P2P section starting from 13 August 2021 post 11:00 UTC.

The exchange further noted that it was pulling the plug on the aforementioned services in order to comply with the regulations put forth by the South Korean government.

The blog post read,

“Our aim is to create a sustainable ecosystem around blockchain technology and digital assets. Binance welcomes developments to our industry’s regulatory framework as they pose opportunities for the market players to have greater collaboration with the regulators. We are committed to working constructively in policy-making that seeks to benefit every user.”

This big Binance takedown has caused the exchange great loss. While the monetary loss is on one side, the exchange has been losing out on major partnerships and this could cost the platform in the long run.

South Korean Govt Certain About Taxing Crypto In 2022

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Governments across the globe started taxing crypto ever since they began seeing people garner profits by trading crypto. South Korea joined the list.

South Korea had time and again revealed its interest in crypto. The country is not only famous for its booming pop culture but also its inclination towards cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the government of the Asian country decided to levy a tax on trading a wide range of digital assets.

South Korea’s Tax On Crypto “Inevitable”

Back in February, the South Korean government affirmed that it would be taxing cryptocurrencies. The Ministry of Economy and Finance of the country revealed that all the profits made by trading cryptocurrencies would be subject to a 20% tax. However, the range of profits incurred while trading assets like Bitcoin [BTC] was limited to gains over 2.5 million won or $2,300. Those whose profits fall below these numbers are reportedly exempted from this tax.

While the taxing of crypto was scheduled to start off from 2022, the country’s finance minister, Hong Nam-ki went on to affirm the same, Reuters reported. Speaking at a news conference, the finance minister of the country, Hong Nam-ki was urged to delay this as the government needed a better rendering of the crypto-verse. But the finance minister asserted that taxing cryptocurrencies were “inevitable.” He added,

“It’s inevitable, we will need to impose taxes on gains from trading of virtual assets.”

The sudden emergence of cryptocurrencies has left the world in a frenzy. While some countries are preparing for the accommodation of these assets, a few others have outrightly started to ban cryptocurrencies.

Furthermore, governments have had a hard time categorizing cryptocurrencies. While some have put these assets under commodities a few others have labeled them securities. Hong Nam-ki, however, suggested that cryptocurrencies were “intangible assets” and not currencies. He even added that calling them currencies would be a “misunderstanding.”

Additionally, the country was seen taking impeccable precautions to dodge any possible scams against those using crypto. Earlier in March, the government announced that any crypto platforms that failed to have strong anti-money laundering processes in place would be subject to heavy fines.

Bithumb Garners The Attention Of Naver As A Potential Stakeholder

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The crypto industry is booming by the day. The interest in acquiring a stake in Bithumb, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, headquartered in South Korea is substantial proof for the same.

Bitcoin and an array of other coins elevated the interest and adoption rate of crypto. This further brought in institutional interest in these digital assets. While several speculated that this was temporary, the inclination of notable platforms seeking a stake in Bithumb shows that the enthusiasm has prolonged. More recently, a leading South Korean internet firm revealed its interest in garnering a stake in Bithumb.

Bithumb Has Over 10 Firms Seeking A Stake

A local news portal affirmed that the South Korean internet giant, Naver has been talking to Vidente, a Bithumb stakeholder with regard to a possible equity stake in the cryptocurrency exchange. Naver joined the list of over ten other platforms seeking a stake in South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

This list included major banks like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley as well as Changpeng Zhao’s Binance. Visa, the payments platform is also looking to garner a stake at the crypto exchange. Additionally, rumors regarding Deutsche Bank jumping onto this bandwagon also surfaced.

Currently, the Chairman of Bithumb holds over 65% stake in the exchange, whereas Vidente owns over 34%.

Similar to all the other platforms, Naver intends to dive into the crypto-verse. The internet firm has been looking into inducing Bitcoin [BTC] as a method of payment on its Naver Pay and Line Pay in Japan and the United States.

Furthermore, the stringent laws that the Korean government has been imposing have left several crypto platforms in the country in a state of anxiety. OKEx Korea will reportedly shut shop giving users time until 7 April 2021. The post read,

“OKEx Korea service has ended on April 7th. We would like to thank all of our customers who have used OKEx Korea in the meantime, and we hope that you must check the information below regarding the termination of the service.”

South Korea To Spruce Up Its Money Laundering Processes

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The emergence of K-Pop has put South Korea on a pedestal. Along with this, the country made it clear that it intends to jump on the crypto bandwagon as well. The country went on to recognize cryptocurrencies by levying taxes on them. More recently, the financial regulators of South Korea revealed that they were looking to strengthen the money laundering laws that govern cryptocurrency exchanges.

In a recent announcement made by the country’s Financial Services Commission [FSC], it was noted that cryptocurrency platforms that fail to impanel powerful anti-money laundering laws would have to face the wrath of hefty fines.

South Korea’s Latest Move To Strengthen AML Laws

The financial watchdog in its announcement clarified that any platform that forfeitures these laws post 20 April 2021 would be subject to fines of between 30% all the way up to 60%. FSC further wrote,

“Under the revised regulation, financial institutions and VASPs will be subject to penalties if they are found to be in violation of internal control duties (e.g. failure to report suspicious transaction activities), data maintenance duties (e.g. failure to keep relevant data on suspicious transactions) and duties specifically pertaining to VASPs (e.g. failure to keep separate management of customers’ transactions records).”

Additionally, the fines would largely be based on the size of the respective crypto platform. Smaller fines would be imposed on small crypto exchanges in case of failure to follow AML laws.

The demand for crypto is thriving and countries across the globe have been bolstering their hold on the crypto industry. Despite this, there are many countries that have failed to put in place laws concerning money laundering. Prominent South Korean crypto exchange, Bithumb explained that it was taking the right measures ahead of this newly introduced law.

A local news portal revealed that Bithumb would ban users from countries that have no anti-money laundering processes in place. A Bithumb official reportedly said,

“The company will continue improving its system to protect investors, and enhancing transparency in the crypto market.”

South Korea To Levy 20% Tax On BTC

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South Korea has been emerging as a global leader with its pop culture. The country decided to jump on the crypto bandwagon by recognizing these digital assets. South Korea has time and again revealed its intention of taxing cryptocurrencies, now the government has announced a date that it would start taxing these assets.

While this law is soon to be implemented, a prominent member of the country’s central bank has exhibited angst about the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies.

South Korea To Tax Profits Acquired By Crypto in 2022

The price movement of Bitcoin in the past few days has certainly spruced up the adoption of crypto. While some governments are outrightly banning these assets, a few others seem to be reaping benefits by taxing them. South Korea joined the list of an array of countries that have levied a tax on crypto.

In a recent report by the Korean Herald, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the country reportedly proclaimed that a 20% tax would be levied on the profits acquired by trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This would commence from 1 January 2022. However, those individuals who make profits lesser than $2,300 or 2.5 million won are exempted from this rule.

While this law helped recoginze Bitcoin as a part of the financial structure, 20% was a bit too much several officals believed. A police officer reportedly said,

“I sold stocks I was holding recently and started to invest in (digital) coins after seeing my colleague made a lot of money from them. I think it’s unfair to charge that much (cryptocurrency) tax when compared to taxes on stocks”

Furthermore, the government had expressed interest in going on board with tax rule in 2020, however, it seems to have been pushed to 2021.

Additionally, as these crypto-assets recorded a massive slump,  Lee Ju-yeo the Governor of the Bank of Korea. Once again, another authority has commented on the highly volatile nature of Bitcoin,

Binance Preps To Latch The Doors Of Its Korean Branch

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2020 is probably the worst year in history. Yet, some crypto platforms like Binance managed to thrive despite the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The exchange was seen diving into several new markets this year while keeping up with the developments pertaining to the platform. Bitcoin’s price movement has got every crypto platform busy at the moment, however, some platforms seem to be going out of business despite the ongoing bull run. One of Binance’s branch was seen undergoing the same.

Binance Korea To Close Shop Following Low Trading Volume

Binance makes sure to maintain its name in the headlines. The exchange is touted as the world’s largest crypto platform and hasn’t slipped down from its post. However, this time the exchange has made the headlines announcing the closure of a branch. In a recent blog post, the exchange alerted its users that it was going to pull the plug on Binance Korea.

The blog post revealed that BKRW charge up as well new registrations at the Korean wing of the exchange was put on hold on 24 December 2020. The trading services is scheduled to stop on 10 January 2021 post 1:00 PM KST. On 29 January 2021, a hard shutdown along with the delisting of BKRW/BUSD Liquid Swap and BKRW trading pairs would take place. Following this, the accounts of Binance KR users would be inaccessible.

The blog post read,

“Binance KR will terminate the local exchange operations due to low usage and volume with limited trading pairs of BKRW, resulting in limited liquidity for its users. Following the closure of the exchange, the Binance KR team will reassess its market strategy based on the resources and experience gained from operating a local exchange.”

It seems like the interest of South Koreans in crypto isn’t very high. The crypto platform’s decision to pull the plug on its branches during the bull run due to low trading volume stands as substantial proof of the aforementioned statement. As the world was recovering from the pandemic, South Koreans seem to be highly affected by the virus right now.

South Korean Exchange Coinbit Execs Find Themselves Behind Bars Following Market Manipulation Allegations

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Market manipulation has become a common phrase in the world of crypto. South Koreans are the latest to be affected by the massacres of market manipulation. The South Korean authorities, however, aren’t far behind as they took down a prominent exchange that engaged in market manipulation over the last year.

South Korean Authorities Shut Down Market Manipulating Crypto Exchange

The popularity of the crypto-verse has grown by a huge majority and the value of its market follows suit. Scammers and hackers across the globe view this as a major point of attraction and dive into the industry to pocket some easy money. Regulators and law enforcement have been working towards busting crime pertaining to the crypto-verse. A recent incident in South Korea is a clear example of the same.

A local news portal reported that the Seoul police had taken down, Coinbit, a cryptocurrency exchange that formulated a market manipulation scheme. The Chairman, Choi Moi along with two other executives of the exchange were nabbed by the police for dwelling into market manipulation over the course of several months. The news portal reported that the executives had bagged over 100 billion won by buying and selling the crypto asset around the same time. This action was called wash trading and about 99% of the crypto exchange’s activities were executed through wash trading.

The Coinbit officials had even set up a ghost account to meddle with the prices of the assets and accelerate the volume of the transactions. This took place from August 2019 all the way up to May 2020.

The South Korean police took this exchange down on 26 August 2020. The Coinbit had an office in Gangnam-gu where the police searched and sealed the place following the information about the scam that the execs of the exchange were running. The prosecutors of South Korea have reportedly been gearing up for a case against the men behind the Coinbit market manipulation.