As a country with a significantly high percentage of cryptocurrency users, South Korea has taken the next step to support this community by taking steps toward new legislation. A bill has been passed by the South Korean National Assembly’s National Policy Committee in order to formalise cryptocurrency as a digital asset, and to enable a foundation for operating businesses in the crypto sphere. There will be an estimated 12 month period before the bill becomes legislation, as it is yet required to be passed by the Judiciary Committee and the National Assembly.
South Korea has been renowned in recent times for embracing cryptocurrency as they had previously put into place protocols for Anti-Money laundering and placed a ban on anonymous trading. The new bill will put into place a regulation framework as there will be rules and requirements for those wishing to operate a business related to cryptocurrencies. Any business involved with virtual currencies and crypto will have to register with the FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit of the Korean Financial Services Commission). There will also be a requirement for each business to acquire an ISMS (Information Security Management System) certificate from the KISA (Korean Internet and Security Agency). In addition to this, state regulation will require crypto-related businesses to maintain their systems in line with the FATF (Financial Action Task Force). According to the legislation, businesses that cannot keep to these standards will face severe penalties.
It appears that the nation has taken the right steps towards creating an environment for cryptocurrency-based businesses to operate within, which makes perfect sense given the vast number of users within South Korea. As this number continues to grow, the government would no doubt want to exert a level of control. We are yet to see this progress occurring globally as many countries are still posing resistance when it comes to Decentralized Ledger Technologies.