Korean Crypto Companies Under The Investigation of BOK: Report

• A recent report is stating that the Bank of Korea will have its eyes on the local crypto companies.
• Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone are some of the leading crypto companies in South Korea.

The East Asian country, South Korea, is active in developing different technologies. The country also opened its door for the crypto market while having small crypto management. Still, Ripple (XRP), Nano (XNO), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Ethereum Classic (ETC) are some popular cryptocurrencies in South Korea.

The Investigation Power of “Bank of Korea”

The Korea Herald, a local media outlet, reported on April 20th that Bank of Korea (BOK) now has the power to investigate the local crypto companies. As a part of its investigation, BOK will keep its eye on every crypto business operating in the country. The Bank of Korea works under the ownership of the Government of South Korea and is the Central bank of Korea. It is also an issuer of the Korean Republic Won (KRW).

Under the investigation power, the central bank of South Korea can now access crypto transaction data from local exchanges. This decision was made amid the further discussions on virtual asset legislation in South Korea.

As Cointelegraph reported, “the BOK has been competing with the South Korean financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) on crypto jurisdiction. While the FSC will have the final call in governing the regulation of the digital asset sector in the country.” Notably, the central Bank of Korea has already shown its concerns on the financial stability risk from stablecoins. It now becomes able to ask the transaction data from local crypto exchanges after the investigation power.

Last week, the investigation power of BOK to keep an eye on local crypto businesses was green-signaled by an official from the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee. Meanwhile, the FSC will also show its official position at a subcommittee meeting on April 25. This meeting will boost the rollout of the country’s virtual asset laws, highlights the report.

Crypto Market in South Korea

According to Statista, nearly 10% of South Korean people have invested in cryptocurrencies. However, this was from the year 2017 to March 2021. Meanwhile, the country is estimated to hold its position at the third place and become the biggest cryptocurrency market in the world. Cryptocurrencies may not be considered as a legal tender or financial asset in the country, still its market has grown sharply in the last few years.

In April 2021, daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies jumped more than twelvefold compared to last year. Not only this, it nearly crossed the value of shares traded on the local stock exchanges. But during the second half of 2022, the average daily trading volume noted a decrease.

The data collected from 27 trading platforms in the country showed that total trading volume amounted to nearly 545 Trillion KRW and having an average daily trading volume of 3 Trillion KRW. The amount shows from the first half of 2022, the drop was almost 43%, having a total trading volume of 951 Trillion KRW and average daily trading volume of 5.3 Trillion KRW.

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.

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