Yesterday, a Supreme Court ruling in India allowed the trading and owning of cryptocurrency which has been banned since 2018 opening the digital asset markets for 1.4 billion people. Following closely on the heels of India was a decision in South Korea to legitimize cryptocurrency exchanges. South Korea’s population of 51 million people makes it the 27th most populous country in the world. The country represents only 0.6% of the world’s population.
South Koreans Love Cryptocurrency
Nevertheless, when it comes to economics and technology, Korea wields outsized power in the world as a producer and early adopter of new technologies. Nowhere is this outsized role more evident than in cryptocurrency.
The South Korean decision sets a strict guideline for exchanges and enforces KYC and Terrorist requirements but the decision opens the markets in South Korea which was one of the largest and most active markets until the government shut down exchanges last year.
The New Laws
Finance Magnates reports that The National Assembly of South Korea’s legislation and judiciary committee has passed a crucial digital currency-related bill on Thursday, legalizing crypto in the country.
The Special Financial Information Law, the legislation faced multiple delays which now brings proper guidelines to the companies providing crypto-related services.
The passing of the amendment signifies BTC and other cryptocurrencies’ official entry into the legal system for South Korea, and the domestic blockchain industry getting re-established.
What is Required
Cryptocurrency trading platforms will have to comply with reporting requirements. Large exchanges are following this path already, but smaller-sized platforms may find it difficult to receive a license permitting them to continue trading.
South Korea, despite its small size, is one of the leading nations in terms of cryptocurrency transactions and adoption. Investing in, trading, and using cryptocurrency is very common amongst Koreans. In 2017, the country was a global leader in the cryptocurrency market, responsible for more trading per capita than any other country in the world. However, over the past year, shifting government attitudes have led to uncertainty around Korea’s crypto future.
Prices Rally
The news helped cryptocurrencies rally in today’s session with Bitcoin finally gathering the momentum to push it past the key psychological mark at 9000. Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency that is strongly in the green today. as practically every other major cryptocurrency is also doing well. In total, the global market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies swelled to more than $260 billion today following the news that South Korea had passed new legislation that requires crypto exchanges operating in the country to comply with FATF guidelines.