South Korean gov't holds emergency meeting re curbing cryptocurrency speculation

[squatter]

South Korea accounts for the #1, #10 and #14 cryptocurrency exchanges by volume. Yes, I know there could be wash volume involved, but as we all know from the Chinese exchanges' history, that doesn't necessarily matter. Korea seems to be approaching Japan with regard to market relevance, and Koreans are especially active in the altcoin markets.

So, the government called an emergency meeting yesterday. The topic: methods for curbing cryptocurrency speculation. Sources at the Bank of Korea say that the government will announce measures targeting cryptocurrency traders by the end of the week. They already banned ICOs in September. According to the article:

Top officials at the country's finance regulator have openly mulled a bitcoin trading ban and have compared trading in the cryptocurrency to a Ponzi scheme.

Could this be fuel for a price correction?

[DaMut]

nope i do not think so,
because as far as i can see there're a lot of confusion happened with them.
booming that happened with cryptocurrency lately made them think about to the opposite move that they're going to take.
the reason behind this confusion due to income that can be generated from the taxes.
in here i can see that they're trying to regulate their local exchanger and also lifting ICOs ban.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-koreas-financial-services-commission-plans-to-reverse-ico-ban
(of course they're only allowing a professional player to open up that kind of project and using ICOs system).
i hope it'll only become another japanese.

[pereira4]

It's always the same cycle these type of news:

1) Government bans X related to crypto
2) The market panics and idiots sell
3) Government realizes banning X is actually not good for them since they are missing on big tax cuts
4) Government unbans X, but regulates it accordingly

Also the underlying aspect of Bitcoin that makes governments hold "emergency meetings" is just another sign that it works. No matter what their laws and decisions say, the code will obey above everything else, and blocks will keep getting mined every 10 minutes. Once people realize this is the intrinsic value of Bitcoin and it is a VERY HIGH one therefore current prices are highly undervalued, they will stop falling for the food. On the long term only smart money will be holding Bitcoin and these news will be irrelevant for the price.

[btcone111]

I think the news is out that south korea will not ban crypto exchange like china did?
Could someone kindly confirm this?
Thanks

[exstasie]

I think the news is out that south korea will not ban crypto exchange like china did?
Could someone kindly confirm this?
Thanks

We won't have official word until Friday, when the government is expected to announce the new measures. It doesn't sound like it will be as bad as China. This is the long and short of it, according to Reuters, but things are still under wraps for now:

In Seoul, after an emergency meeting on Wednesday, South Korea’s government said it will consider taxing capital gains from trading of virtual coins and will also ban minors from opening accounts on exchanges, according to a statement obtained by Reuters ahead of its official release.

To be eligible, exchanges in South Korea will need to uphold investor protection rules and disclose all bid and offer quotes.

The measures need parliamentary approval. Seoul will maintain a current ban on all financial institutions dealing virtual currencies.

It sounds like the ICO ban and the prohibition on banks dealing with BTC will stay in place. There will be new restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges including a ban on minors opening accounts. There will be a new tax regime put into place for digital currencies --- likely a capital gains tax.

[gentlemand]

It's ridiculous that South Korea didn't have some barebones advisories in place at least. If they're concerned about their citizens setting their money on fire, then the government itself will be responsible for it if they're too heavy handed. It's also incredibly stupid and short sighted of the exchange operators not to see a threat coming. They should've volunteered to abide by some sort of code of conduct.

Korea could well end up another China and all that entails but I hope at least they get it over and done with rapidly.

[bambazamba]

I think rising price of Bitcoin has lead them to assemble for this emergency meeting. Without any doubt South Korea plays an vital role in the crytocurrency market and large amount of data flows through the country. The meeting is likely to discuss the future about the Bitcoin in the country and its integration in the system with proper tax system. The wind of bitcoin's value is making things unclear and mysterious everyday, one can only hope for the positive results for the future.

[TERA2]

1. Ban bitcoin
2. Buy the drop
3. Embrace bitcoin
4. Profit

[jseverson]

It's always the same cycle these type of news:

1) Government bans X related to crypto
2) The market panics and idiots sell
3) Government realizes banning X is actually not good for them since they are missing on big tax cuts
4) Government unbans X, but regulates it accordingly

Wait what? Has this ever happened under the context where the country wants nothing to do with X, but unbans it with regulations? China's exchange ban, for example, is reversible because they have said that it needs regulating, and is not a permanent ban by any means. If South Korea bans Bitcoin trading under the assumption that it's a ponzi, then doesn't that rule out a softer stance and regulations later? Has there ever been a country that declared Bitcoin or something related a scam to justify a ban, only to reverse their position?

Anyway, losing South Korea will be a big blow, but nothing we can't survive. I still can't wrap my head around why some people think Bitcoin is a ponzi when they're so fundamentally different.

[Wilhelm]

CHINA BAN REVISITED #128292 

[Denker]

Whatever are you talking about.
They are just putting some heavy regulations and law on ICOs.
Bitcoin will not be banned in South Korea!
So there is absolutely nothing to be worried about if you're South Korean.
They may come up with stricter KYC/AML rules as well, but in no way will they ban Bitcoin or crypto currencies in general.

[tokeweed]

nope i do not think so,
because as far as i can see there're a lot of confusion happened with them.
booming that happened with cryptocurrency lately made them think about to the opposite move that they're going to take.
the reason behind this confusion due to income that can be generated from the taxes.
in here i can see that they're trying to regulate their local exchanger and also lifting ICOs ban.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-koreas-financial-services-commission-plans-to-reverse-ico-ban
(of course they're only allowing a professional player to open up that kind of project and using ICOs system).
i hope it'll only become another japanese.

Of course it will cause a correction.  Wtf?  We've seen it happen over and over again.  BTC rises vs fiat and then boom, some central bank or some government starts some FUD making weak hands panic.  Then come the news sites taking advantage of this, releasing all the doom and gloom news just to get hits.

[Lipe490]

The plot is the same everytime. Governments announce crypto Ban, then they say that only ICO are banned. Some weeks later they say that it need regularization and it's done, some big guys make a huge profit. The funny thing is that I do not see any government fighting against stock exchanges speculation. So it's ok if I can speculate about shares of the big enterprises but I can't do that with Cryptos?

[Beerwizzard]

It's ridiculous that South Korea didn't have some barebones advisories in place at least. If they're concerned about their citizens setting their money on fire, then the government itself will be responsible for it if they're too heavy handed. It's also incredibly stupid and short sighted of the exchange operators not to see a threat coming. They should've volunteered to abide by some sort of code of conduct.

Korea could well end up another China and all that entails but I hope at least they get it over and done with rapidly.

I always belived in south korea and I think they should have some advisors about this issue. Imho koreans are pretty smart to understand that bitcoin recently had a big pump and it is not a secret that BTC is in the bubble right now. Such situation might threat to their economy. Regulations are  not a problem by itself. They should be clear, understandable and not complicated. If koreans will do everything right (lets just pray for it) then we are fine.

[andamers]

South Korea accounts for the #1, #10 and #14 cryptocurrency exchanges by volume. Yes, I know there could be wash volume involved, but as we all know from the Chinese exchanges' history, that doesn't necessarily matter. Korea seems to be approaching Japan with regard to market relevance, and Koreans are especially active in the altcoin markets.

So, the government called an emergency meeting yesterday. The topic: methods for curbing cryptocurrency speculation. Sources at the Bank of Korea say that the government will announce measures targeting cryptocurrency traders by the end of the week. They already banned ICOs in September. According to the article:

Top officials at the country's finance regulator have openly mulled a bitcoin trading ban and have compared trading in the cryptocurrency to a Ponzi scheme.

Could this be fuel for a price correction?

even they ban cryptocurrency and trading it will effect only with new cryptocurrency top will never effect.

it’s only game from big players

[alyssa85]

South Korea accounts for the #1, #10 and #14 cryptocurrency exchanges by volume. Yes, I know there could be wash volume involved, but as we all know from the Chinese exchanges' history, that doesn't necessarily matter. Korea seems to be approaching Japan with regard to market relevance, and Koreans are especially active in the altcoin markets.

So, the government called an emergency meeting yesterday. The topic: methods for curbing cryptocurrency speculation. Sources at the Bank of Korea say that the government will announce measures targeting cryptocurrency traders by the end of the week. They already banned ICOs in September. According to the article:

Top officials at the country's finance regulator have openly mulled a bitcoin trading ban and have compared trading in the cryptocurrency to a Ponzi scheme.

Could this be fuel for a price correction?

The outcome of that meeting was that Korea banned derivatives (but left trading of coins alone). The price corrected briefly last night from above $17,000 to just about $16,000. And now it's moving sideways.

[arpon11]

Definitely, price correlation is underway because of this as traders may likely sell their coins because of this issue. South Korea is one of the largest cryptocurrencies used country and when this was announced yesterday on CNN I suspect this is going to happen and that is many South Korean traders are going to convert they coins to fiat in other not to be cut up in the web.  I have been trading this market and one of the things I have seen happened is that when ever bitcoin price going up there is always away to force it into corrections by one law or the other.

[stompix]

It's always the same cycle these type of news:

1) Government bans X related to crypto
2) The market panics and idiots sell
3) Government realizes banning X is actually not good for them since they are missing on big tax cuts
4) Government unbans X, but regulates it accordingly

Always the same cycle?
Can you give me two examples of countries that have BANNED crypto then they've realized they miss  "BIG TAX CUTS" and unbanned them alongside regulations ?

And how have we come to "banning" in the first place.
Even the title is about speculation. The article is about speculation.

South Korean government ministries convened an emergency meeting on methods for curbing cryptocurrency speculation on Wednesday amid widespread investor enthusiasm for bitcoin among the country’s investors.

They are afraid of market manipulation in which small investors might get fleeced.

Separately, Reuters cited an official at the Bank of Korea as saying that the country would announce measures targeting cryptocurrency trading on Friday. A spokesman for the central bank told the Financial Times he was unaware of any such measures.

Again, it's rumors, rumors and it has nothing to do with BTC as the only culprit or bitcoin in general.
The main target is exchanges that might have crossed the line, and we all know that Bithumb was trading 3000$ higher than the rest of the world one week ago.

[exstasie]

It's ridiculous that South Korea didn't have some barebones advisories in place at least. If they're concerned about their citizens setting their money on fire, then the government itself will be responsible for it if they're too heavy handed.

They have been watching the space since at least late 2016, when they first announced incoming regulations. They banned ICOs 3 months ago and also prohibited financial institutions from engaging with digital currencies (presumably to deter increased speculation). They also banned margin trading of cryptocurrencies. This has definitely been building for months.

Korea could well end up another China and all that entails but I hope at least they get it over and done with rapidly.

The articles I've read make it sound like it's more about establishing a tax regime and enforcing tax compliance than anything else. But we'll see. An announcement from the government is expected Friday.

[cryptodontus]

South Korea accounts for the #1, #10 and #14 cryptocurrency exchanges by volume. Yes, I know there could be wash volume involved, but as we all know from the Chinese exchanges' history, that doesn't necessarily matter. Korea seems to be approaching Japan with regard to market relevance, and Koreans are especially active in the altcoin markets.

So, the government called an emergency meeting yesterday. The topic: methods for curbing cryptocurrency speculation. Sources at the Bank of Korea say that the government will announce measures targeting cryptocurrency traders by the end of the week. They already banned ICOs in September. According to the article:

Top officials at the country's finance regulator have openly mulled a bitcoin trading ban and have compared trading in the cryptocurrency to a Ponzi scheme.

Could this be fuel for a price correction?

Look, basically half of south koreans bought bitcoin at a price it never reached anywhere else (from 19k to over 22.5k). An entire nation of bagholders. There is going to be a SHITSTORM over there.