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South Korea Plans To Ban Cryptocurrency Trading

South Korea's government said on Thursday it plans to ban cryptocurrency trading, sending bitcoin prices plummeting and throwing the virtual coin market into turmoil as the nation's police and tax authorities raided local exchanges on alleged tax evasion. Reuters reports: The clampdown in South Korea, a crucial source of global demand for cryptocurrency, came as policymakers around the world struggled to regulate an asset whose value has skyrocketed over the last year. Justice minister Park Sang-ki said the government was preparing a bill to ban trading of the virtual currency on domestic exchanges. Once a bill is drafted, legislation for an outright ban of virtual coin trading will require a majority vote of the total 297 members of the National Assembly, a process that could take months or even years. The local price of bitcoin plunged as much as 21 percent in midday trade to 18.3 million won (12,730.35 pounds) after the minister's comments. It still trades at around a 30 percent premium compared to other countries.

5 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. What's really going on here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    South Korea is proposing to ban cryptocurrency trading, but that's far from certain. On CNBC early this morning, they speculated that this was unlikely to occur and that China had enacted similar measures previously before reversing course. They suggested that there would be more regulation of exchanges, much like what already happens in the US where Coinbase and others collect personal information on their customers. Another possible regulation is imposing trading curbs or halting trading when there are significant declines, much like what happens with stock exchanges. Stories like this increase the uncertainty around cryptocurrency and are likely holding the prices down somewhat until there is a resolution on these issues. It's difficult to ban the blockchain technology altogether, so it seems more likely that they will opt for regulating exchanges.

  2. Cryptocurrencies dying in Asia... by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 3, Informative

    South Korea banning trading, China already banned the exchange of cryptocurrencies and crypto mining operations, and Japan is still considering banning ICOs. Tough row to hoe for crypto folks in Asia!

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    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  3. This news is false and 8 hours late? by TheSimkin · · Score: 4, Informative
  4. That's nothing! by Kenja · · Score: 4, Informative
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    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  5. Re:Taxed to Death by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    In the US any significant gains are taxed at 40%

    Only ~3% of the population reaches that tax bracket, and they're likely rich enough that they shouldn't worry about paying taxes (or if not, could easily become more rich by also living frugally.) Also, said 3% is also likely to depend on government services, including paved public roads, etc - and simply shutting down government (including municipal) will cause a breakdown in how things get coordinated.

    The founders killed men over less.

    The founders killed men because they were taxed without being represented - a far cry from being taxed with the same amount of representation as your poor neighbor.