The South Korean government announced new measures for the regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges, among which it highlighted the prohibition of anonymous accounts as part of efforts to deal with speculation and fraud.
These measures are added to those announced on December 13 after the meeting between the government and various ministries. "The government is in the position that it can no longer neglect these unusual speculative situations" can be read in the statement published on the website of the Office of Government Policy Coordination.
They indicated that cryptocurrencies are not legal currencies, in addition to that the volatility of their prices and the speculation around them could generate important losses to the investors and even that could be used to commit fraud.
With respect to the prohibition of anonymous accounts for cryptocurrencies, only real-name bank accounts may be used for operations of deposits and withdrawals in cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea. Another measure announced is the closure of those exchange houses that fail to comply with the measures previously published. "The Ministry of Justice has proposed special legislation to close the exchange of virtual currency," the statement said.
They pointed out that banks should support the identification of clients and their movement information, as a measure against money laundering through the exchange of cryptocurrencies. Another special measure was the cleaning of online cryptocurrency exchanges by the Korea Communications Commission. Despite the regulation, the government said it will continue to support the development of blockchain technology.
After the pronouncement, through Reddit clarified the operation of the South Korean banking systems with respect to the issue of anonymous accounts, claiming that sources had misinterpreted the information. They explained that a virtual account is a type of temporary and anonymous bank account that is usually open for 24 hours and that is commonly created by companies to make it easier for their clients to pay for items online. This option offered by banks in South Korea was being offered by exchange houses such as Bithumb. Now, the measure will prohibit the issuance of such accounts to market cryptocurrencies.
Recall that recently the South Korean exchange YouBit filed for bankruptcy, which generated financial losses to its users. In addition, South Korea is one of the major Bitcoin markets, Bithumb being the main exchange of cryptocurrencies in the world, so the behavior of users in this country has an important influence on the price of cryptoactives.