South Korea to Ban Cryptocurrencies Again

Today South Korea’s Office for Government Policy Coordination published a statement about cryptoasset crackdown. According to it the crackdown in the country will not necessarily come imminently but as as relief to the bitcoin-mad country.

Recently the justice minister mentioned about potential shutdown of exchanges, which had suggested the country’s Ministry of Justice for the purpose to curb speculation. The Ministry office said in a statement that after consultation and coordination of opinions the government will made a final decision.

Recent developments showed that clampdown on cryptocurrency trading is going to happen. Last week South Korean police raided the offices of Coinone and Bithumb, which are the two biggest exchanges in the country. On the same day there was prepared a bill with a purpose to ban cryptocurrency exchanges.

South Korea is a big place for bitcoin and other digital assets. It accounts for 20% of global bitcoin transactions. Many Koreans have invested their holdings in digital coins. Recent survey shows among workers three out of ten have invested in virtual currencies.

The main factor that has caused bitcoin’s price to tumble since surpassing $19,000 last year is a panic over a potential crackdown in South Korea. When South Korean government issued a statement warning “virtual coins cannot play a role as actual currency and could result in high losses due to excessive volatility”  on December 28 the bitcoin’s value dropped down to over $1,000 in value.

The latest statement of South Korean government suggests that people and organizations may not see eye to eye on how to deal with the boom in digital currencies.