South Korean financial watchdogs are on the verge of overseeing crypto activity in the nation, and additional barriers to exchanges keep popping up. In addition, one of the South Korean regulators has codified the measures announced last year to list privacy tokens.
No major domestic exchanges can list a privacy-focused crypto asset
According to the Electronic Times, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission confirmed that all privacy coins will be removed from domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.
The watchdog argued that difficulties in determining transaction details put a high risk of money laundering through such cryptocurrencies.
Although the FIU has just confirmed this, the local press first reported on the measure in November 2020. The FIU promised to ban privacy coins like Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC).
South Korean platforms like Okex have since been forced to delist several privacy coins in order to align them with anti-money laundering (AML) rules.
At the time of going to press, however, no major South Korean crypto exchange lists any data protection-oriented cryptos. The Financial Intelligence Unit is the regulator responsible for handling AML matters.
Report of “unusual” transactions within three working days
According to the Yonhap Times, the unit will require domestic exchanges to flag and report unusual transactions “within three working days” on their platforms. According to FIU guidelines, the reports should show transaction values in Fiat Korean Won (KRW).
The regulator is awaiting the exchange of guidelines on a protection management system that collects information such as banking information and social security numbers. In fact, the entity wants banks to be responsible for ensuring that exchanges comply with AML rules.
South Korean crypto law will go into effect in March 2021 after removing a series of delays and discussions about who should oversee the entire crypto industry from a legal perspective.
Also, the coronavirus pandemic halted discussions as other bills were given a significant priority in the pipeline.
What do you think of this news ahead of the South Korean crypto bill deadline? Let us know in the comments below.
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