가상화폐 거래소 무더기 폐쇄 현실로…실명계좌 트기 ‘바늘구멍’
Because of a new law that took effect late last month, most of South Korea’s smaller cryptocurrency exchanges will likely have to shut down in the coming months.
The law requires the exchanges to open up their own certified bank accounts to send and receive money to their customers.
But banks are reluctant to give them these accounts because the exchanges don’t have the resources to sufficiently prevent money laundering, as the law requires them to.
Kim Jae-hee has this report.
Most of South Korea’s roughly 100 cryptocurrency exchanges are at risk of closing down by the end of September, or sooner,… due to a new regulation that took effect on March 25th.
To prevent cryptocurrencies from being used for money laundering,… the exchanges now have to register their business with the Financial Intelligence Unit the country’s anti-money-laundering agency within 6 months… and have to meet AML requirements, such as identifying their customers, and keeping records of their transactions.
To get registered, each exchange must partner with bank that will create a certified account for it,… through which customers will send money to the exchange.
By opening this account, the bank would be vouching for the security of the exchange, and taking responsibility for AML monitoring as well.
Reluctant to take on this responsibility, banks are subjecting the exchanges that apply for accounts… to strict screening of their transparency, risks and business practices.
According to Yonhap News Agency, only the four biggest exchanges Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone and Korbit have so far clinched such an arrangement with a bank so far.
An expert says he expects very few exchanges to qualify.
“It’s very difficult for small and medium-sized cryptocurrency exchanges to qualify under this new regulation. I think only about 5 or 10 exchanges will succeed in registering by September 25th. The others that are not ready… should be preparing to close down,… and there need to be discussions about how to protect the crypto investors who use these exchanges.”
He advised caution when investing in cryptocurrencies, and to be aware that the exchanges could suddenly shut down.
Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.
#cryptocurrency #exchange #shut_down
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2021-04-20, 17:00 (KST)
