Crypto Current Affairs—South Korea Drafting Bills to Legalise Bitcoin & Ethereum!
South Korean government is readying a set of regulatory framework for all cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum. The purpose of the bill is to ensure safety of investors, tackle tax evasion from crypto currency transactions and provide a legal ground for cryptocurrencies, and trading platforms in the country.
Park Yong-Jin, representative of the ruling democratic party and popular South Korean lawmaker is working on 3 bills with focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The regulatory framework will also provide protection for South Korean crypto users, investors and traders of cryptocurrencies against irregularities and a potential crypto bubble burst.
This is another new and exciting development from the Asia-Pacific region after Japan & Australia ended certain taxes on Bitcoin on 1st July.
Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone are the top digital currency trading platforms in the country and have processed transactions in the millions. Park intends on revising the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, allowing local business and aforementioned trading exchanges that currently have no legal grounds to operate.
They will be required to work with more stricter KYC and AML systems in place, and retain capital of at least $436,000. They are also likely to be licensed and regulated by the South Korean Financial Supervisory Service to ensure they operate within guidelines mandated by the government. The top exchanges in South Korea are already operating with strict checks in place to avoid a tussle with the South Korean government policies and regulations, so adhering to even stricter government requirements won't be an issue.
In an interview to The Korea Herald, law firm Minwho head attorney Kim Kyung-hwan said:
“User protection, tax evasion and money laundering have long been issues in terms of digital currency transaction,” Kim told The Korea Herald. “Digital currency traders have often found themselves in trouble, because they are out of a legal boundary.”
Towards Mainstream Crypto Adoption
On Steemit we've seen a tremendous rise in South Korean user adoption of our platform. South Korea accounts for the highest traffic from Asia to Steemit. Over the past few months, Bitcoin has scaled to dizzying heights on South Korean crypto-exchanges.
The new regulatory bill in South Korea is clear gesture that cryptos are here to stay. It shows maturity of the South Korean government in adopting Bitcoins and making it mainstream, and giving it's citizen the freedom to decide what they want for themselves and make it safer to use volatile cryptocurrencies in everyday lives. I think it's incredible that the South Korean government joins Japan and other nations in leading by example.
If you are from South Korea, what is your opinion on your government's decision to legalize Bitcoin and Ethereum. How do you see the markets changing to enable larger adoption?
If you are not from South Korea, what do you think your local government can do to improve crypto adoptions?
You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:
- Crypto Current Affairs—Japan & Australia End Specific Taxes On Bitcoin Today! Will India Learn From This?
- Crypto Current Affairs—Is Bitcoin Legal Tender in India?
Thanks for posting on this.
Exciting times; I'm starting to look at real estate..
Should be a nice bump in the price with this news :)
Very much!
I guess ETH price will fluctuate in range 200-250 before it rises up to 300
@surfyogi. Why real estate... can you elaborate on this?
Anticipating taking some profits next time the market is up, and spreading my investments into other things, including a new home! Diversification can start being almost a full time job..
Thank you sir. Was thinking just the same :)
That's funny. But very forward thinking. :)
That's awesome! Go for it!
great inform, thanks
Glad to help!
Nice post, Thanks for the great information.....
Thank you :D
This is excellent! I hope with time that this type of thinking will spread all over the world. I personally believe it's really just a matter of time before Bitcoin, Ethereum and the like become more and more widely accepted.
Still as of today, in Canada, my own bank makes it hard for me to invest in cryptocurrencies directly from my bank. They even cancelled a bank transfer that I wanted to do when they found out that the purpose of the bank transfer was to invest in Bitcoin! They said they had a policy that discouraged any type of investment in Bitcoin. I couldn't believe it and don't feel that a bank should tell you what you can and can't invest in. I of course just withdrew the cash, opened up another bank account, then transfered the cash from that new account to invest in Bitcoin no problem. I cannot wait until the day that cryptos are simply accepted and viewed as legitimate everywhere though.
It cannot come soon enough!
That's quite crazy! I hope they change the policy in your country and make it easier to invest in BTC.
Woff, woff!
Hello @firepower, Nice to meet you!
I'm a guide dog living in KR community. I can see that you want to contribute to KR community and communicate with other Korean Steemians. I really appreciate it and I'd be more than happy to help.
KR tag is used mainly by Koreans, but we give warm welcome to anyone who wish to use it. I'm here to give you some advice so that your post can be viewed by many more Koreans. I'm a guide dog after all and that's what I do!
Tips:
Unfortunately, Google Translate is terrible at translating English into Korean. You may think you wrote in perfect Korean, but what KR Steemians read is gibberish. Sorry, even Koreans can't understand your post written in Google-Translated Korean.
I sincerely hope that you enjoy Steemit without getting downvotes. Because Steemit is a wonderful place. See? Korean Steemians are kind enough to raise a guide dog(that's me) to help you!
Woff, woff! 🐶
Its' going to be interesting to see how these countries handle taxes on Crypto. One of the features of Crypto I love is not being controlled by a government, can't be frozen or seized but for this to become more main stream taxes will have to be addressed. I believe in paying taxes but I hate being taxed again and again on the same money.
As I'm getting a bit older now, I am putting money aside every week into crypto more as a retirement plan. The real question is how will this be taxed in 20 years when I will need to start pulling money out to live on?
Who knows, the government will do all it can within it's powers to tax every aspect of our lives. :(
Nice inform
Thanks!
Don't think I have ever heard any Norwegian politicians mention Blockchain ever lol. However, you may find it interesting that last week the first ever Bitcoin minibank opened in Norway. The article is in Norwegian but I am sure google translate will do it justice.
It's interesting that it is some guy from the Netherlands who is taking the initiative. Leaving "Finn.no" the largest online marketplace in Norway. The article says he intends to open 10 such minibanks before the end of the year. So perhaps this can initiate some more interest and debate on the topic.
Lets see!
Wow! This is amazing news! Thanks!
Too many people are adopting cryptocurrencies around the world for governments to ignore them and pretend it isn't happening - some like South Korea and Japan are embracing this global change whilst others unfortunately are resisting and making it harder for their citizens. It was ever thus!
Well, I really hope things change and more countries join Japan and South Koreans to get bitcoin up to the next level.
I heard today that the largest supermarket in Germany is now accepting Bitcoin?
I can't pretend I fully understand cryptocurrencies yet but I do find all of this absolutely fascinating.
Crypto Currencies is really an fascinating affair!