The financial authorities began to understand the status of cryptocurrency exchanges with the cooperation of the banking sector.
Only about 100 to 200 cryptocurrency exchanges are known, but even the financial authorities have not yet been able to figure out the exact figures. It can be interpreted that the financial authorities began to understand the current status of the exchange as the cryptocurrency exchange was scattered and the damage to investors continued.
It is also interpreted as a measure to work on sanctions on places where businesses do business without completing the reporting procedure to the Financial Services Commission by grasping the exact status of the exchange before the end of the specific financial information law (special money law) grace period.
According to the banknote on the 4th, the financial authorities recently requested major banks to submit the status of the management of cryptocurrency business operators, and the bank submitted a collection account such as a corporate account and a monitoring method. An official from the financial authorities said, “We asked the bank to classify cryptocurrency exchanges.”
The four major exchanges, such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Kobit, use real-name accounts contracted with banks, but all small and medium-sized exchanges except these use collection accounts. A collection account (honeycomb account) is a method of placing individual accounts of several traders under a corporate account.
Cryptocurrency exchanges can be opened by simply registering a business with the tax office without the need to obtain a license from the financial authorities. This is why the financial authorities are unable to grasp the exact situation.
Finance Commissioner Eun Seong-soo said at a general meeting of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee last month that there are 200 cryptocurrency exchanges (operating in Korea). . Chairman Eun cited the figures of cryptocurrency exchanges estimated by some private consulting firms, but it was also pointed out that in the cryptocurrency industry, authorities misrepresented them as if cryptocurrency exchanges were scrambling and causing damage to investors.
The financial authorities decided that it would be possible to understand the status of the cryptocurrency exchange by checking the collection account held by the bank, so they requested cooperation from the banking sector.
It seems that the recent cryptocurrency craze that the financial authorities started to understand the current status of cryptocurrency exchanges was caused by concerns that damage to investors could result from the turmoil of cryptocurrency exchanges until the grace period of the Special Law. When the grace period for the special money law is over until September 24, it is predicted that exchanges that failed to report to the financial authorities may close down, raising the possibility of damage to some investors.
It also seems to be a preemptive measure in preparation for the postponement period of the amendment to the Special Act. Due to the amendment of the Special Money Act, cryptocurrency exchanges must enter into a contract for issuing a real name confirmation deposit and withdrawal account with a bank and go through the reporting procedure to the financial authorities in order to operate normally. If you do not report until the grace period, you will be imprisoned for up to 5 years or fined up to 50 million won. This is a measure to understand in advance the currently operating cryptocurrency exchange.
Financial authorities estimate that there will not be up to 200 cryptocurrency exchanges, as Chairman Eun mentioned. An official from the financial authorities said, “The scope of virtual transaction operators varies according to the definition,” and said, “There will be fewer (rather than 200) actual cryptocurrency exchanges.”
