Seoul to ban anonymous trading of cryptocurrencies
SEOUL: South Korea said yesterday it would ban anonymous trading of virtual currencies and crack down on money laundering activities using them, amid growing fears of a bubble over cryptocurrencies.
The announcement came as the hyper-wired nation 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 include a ban on opening anonymous cryptocurrency accounts and new legislation to allow regulators to close virtual currency exchanges if necessary.
“Officials share the view that virtual currency trading is over- heating irrationally... and we can no longer overlook this abnormal speculative situation,” said the government in a statement.
All anonymous accounts currently in use would be closed next month, it added.
The policy package also includes stepping up crackdowns on money laundering activities and financial fraud — including price manipulation — using digital currency trades.
The announcement came two weeks after Seoul banned its financial firms from dealing in virtual currencies, most notably bitcoin, as their prices soared, sparking concerns of a bubble largely fuelled by retail speculators.
About one million South Kore- ans, many of them small-time investors, are estimated to own bitcoin. AFP