Sth Korea virtual crackdown

SOUTH Korea says it will ban anonymous trading of virtual currencies and crack down on money laundering activities using them, amid fears of a bubble over cryptocurrencies.

The announcement came as the hyper-wired South emerged as a hotbed for cryptocurrency trading, accounting for some 20 per cent of global bitcoin transactions – about 10 times its share of the world economy.

The new rules announced by Seoul include a ban on opening anonymous cryptocurrency accounts and new legislation to allow regulators to close virtual currency exchanges if necessary.