South Korea is making stricter regulations on cross-border cryptocurrency transactions to fight foreign exchange crimes tied to digital assets.
According to a local media outlet, Choi Sang-mok, South Korea’s Minister of Economy and Finance, said that new measures targeting businesses that engage in cross-border transactions using stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies will be brought in. The developments were addressed during a G20 meeting in Washington on Thursday.
Under the proposed regulations, companies involved in cross-border transactions will need to pre-register with authorities and submit monthly transaction reports to the Bank of Korea. This transaction data will be closely monitored by various South Korean regulatory bodies, including tax, customs, financial, and international finance authorities, to prevent and track illegal activities.
This proposed measure comes hot on the heels of recent findings from the Korea Customs Service, revealing that 88% of foreign exchange crimes, totaling 1.65 Trillion Won ($1.2 Billion), have involved digital assets, with common offenses including illegal arbitrage and money laundering.
Choi also noted that the government plans to amend the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act to categorize “virtual assets” and “virtual asset business operators” under a new regulatory framework, distinct from traditional foreign exchange, overseas payment methods, and capital transactions. The reformations are expected to be finalized by mid-2025, with the reporting and monitoring system to follow in the latter half of the year.
This latest move reflects South Korea’s ongoing push for a robust regulatory framework in the crypto space. Not just this, the nation’s regulators are also considering reviewing Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit’s Monopoly in the virtual asset market, to ensure there is no single entity dominance in its market.
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Source: https://www.cryptonewsz.com/south-korea-regulations-cross-border-crypto/