According to the Korea Herald report, Financial Services Commission Chairman nominee Koh Seung-beom expressed skepticism on Wednesday over the value of cryptocurrency as a financial asset, confirming his tone in line with the regulator’s move to tighten its grip on the crypto sector. South Korea has been tightening crypto regulations in the country for some time as several local crypto exchanges have found it difficult to comply with proposed regulations.
“International organizations find it difficult to consider virtual currencies as a financial asset.”
“International organizations, including the Group of 20 and the International Monetary Fund, as well as a lot of market experts, find it difficult to consider virtual currencies as a financial asset, and think they could not function as a real currency,” Koh said in a written answer to questions posed by the National Assembly’s National Policy Committee ahead of his confirmation hearing, slated for Friday. FSC chief nominee further reiterated the government’s rejection to acknowledge cryptocurrency as a viable asset class.
FSC’s incumbent chief believes cryptocurrencies that have no intrinsic value are not real money.
Earlier, the FSC’s incumbent chief Eun Sung-soo expressed concern about the recent crypto frenzy, saying, “cryptocurrencies, which have no intrinsic value, are not a real currency.” Cryptocurrency trading gained momentum boosted by ample liquidity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the price of a bitcoin in the country topping 80 million won ($71,800) for the first time in mid-April, industry data showed. South Korea has been imposing tougher rules on crypto transactions. Under the revised Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, all virtual asset service providers are allowed to begin operations after reporting their business status to the Financial Intelligence Unit, which requires them to acquire verifiable accounts in their real names from local banks while taking anti-money laundering measures.
