It is evident things are changing in the Korean cryptocurrency industry. Local exchanges and trading platforms have to adhere to some new rules. Unlike some reports, there is no plan to ban cryptocurrencies or restrict the trading. of said currencies. However, foreign users will not be able to trade on most platforms in the future. Korbit is the first major exchange to announce this decision to its users. It is unclear if other platforms will issue similar notices to their clients.
Very few people can make proper use of Korean cryptocurrency trading platforms. This is mainly due to very strict sign-up requirements. Anyone without a Korean government ID or bank account cannot buy or sell cryptocurrencies on these platforms. It seems Korbit was one exception in this regard. However, that situation will come to change in the near future as well. Non-Korean nationals can no longer deposit Korean won at the domestic exchange. A worrisome development, although one that won’t have much of an impact.
A Necessary Change for Korbit
Korbit informed its users regarding this decision earlier this week. They are currently working on a new KRW deposit method. Not too many details regarding this infrastructure are known at this point, though. Not being able to deposit Korean Won is not that big of a deal for most people. After all, it is getting the money out of the platforms which is the bigger problem. Especially for International users, that is either impossible or subject to very strict limitations.
Do keep in mind this does not affect Korean trading behavior at all. Local users can still deposit and withdraw Korean Won as they always have done. Korbit has some issues with Kookmin Bank, though. This institution has not taken kindly to cryptocurrency usage in South Korea lately. Moreover, there is the new AML policy introduced by the government to take into account. All of these changes will eventually yield positive results for the cryptocurrency industry, though.
It is unclear if other exchanges will follow the example by Korbit. Most platforms have been off-limits to non-Korean users for as long as most people remember. The new regulations put in place by the local government are not as negative as most people think either. Granted, regulation is never completely positive, but things could be a lot worse. There will not be any ban on cryptocurrency trading whatsoever. In fact, South Korean exchanges continue to generate more trading volume every single month.
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