Korea is obsessed with cryptocurrencies. Demand for the virtual currency was so extreme at one point in January that it lifted prices in Korea 50 percent higher than those in America. ICOs and anonymous trading bans, the untimely death of a crypto policy director, exchange regulations make Korea the the capital of crypto for hot news and FUD.
But why Korean are so keen on crypto? According to Kwak Keumjoo, professor of psychology at Seoul National University, bitcoin’s stateless status appeals to some citizens who’ve grown wary of keeping their savings in a country that shares a border with Kim Jong Un’s North Korea.
However after the ICOs ban in September, the Korean financial authorities are preparing a plan to allow initial coin offerings (ICOs) , digital token-based fundraising rounds, for domestic investors in the country. We have to say the administration still lets local investors put money into foreign ICOs and digital currency exchanges operating within the country.
Kang Young-soo, is the man in charge, who oversees cryptocurrency trading policies at the Financial Service Commission (FSC). In his latest statement he says "There are many speculating about the possibility of allowing ICOs. The FSC has acknowledged a third-party view regarding the issue, but there's nothing that we can say officially at the moment."
Contrary to some mainstream media reports, the ICO ban never made it to legislation, nor has there been progress toward it.
But the fear and uncertainty have already taken their toll, with most Korean blockchain companies opting to set up in crypto havens like Switzerland, Gibraltar or Singapore.
Kang, said the country has no plans to regulate cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, while it tries to work out how to regulate the market.
"Yes, we have to have plans on how to advance blockchain-related technologies and effectively regulate crypto-trading. This is a separate issue," Kang told an industry forum held recently at the National Assembly.