The South Korean government has called for financial regulators and central bankers of 23 other countries as well as 12 organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, to collaborate on curbing cryptocurrency trading. 

 

Other Regulators Urged to Take Action

 The vice chairman of the South Korean Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), Kim Yong-bum, represented his country on Monday at the meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Steering Committee in Basel, Switzerland.

Kim Yong-bum.

The FSB is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. Its members are financial regulators and central bankers from 24 countries, including South Korea, as well as 12 international organizations. Among countries represented are China, Japan, India, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. The organizations represented include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the World Bank, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the European Commission.At the meeting, discussions were held “on the evaluation of regulatory reforms including virtual currency, mitigation measures against cybercrime, and cybersecurity,” Aju News reported. Speaking about cross-border cyber transactions being used for illegal acts and money laundering, Kim called for the “international coordination to curb virtual currency trading,” the publication detailed. Citing that it is time to start a full-scale international debate, he asserted:

As the international financial risks related to virtual currency increase, the financial authorities need to pay close attention to this…In particular, virtual currency, which is outside the traditional regulatory domain of financial authorities, is affecting consumers.

A Call for Collaboration

After explaining how his government has taken steps to “stop providing new virtual account services for virtual currency exchanges and strengthen measures to verify [account holders] real names,” Kim told other financial regulators:

Virtual currency is too risky to ignore…We will improve transparency, prevent the spread of speculative transactions, and prevent money laundering.

He then urged the FSB to take action, stating that “It is necessary [for the FSB] to speedily study the potential risks of virtual currency in financial stability,” the news outlet quoted him saying. Specifically, he suggested, “we must support virtual currency countermeasures by integrating and sharing relevant information such as the contents and effects of the virtual currency regulation of each country.”