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Cryptocurrency Traders in South Korea Face Fines For Virtual Accounts (yonhapnews.co.kr)

Posted by msmash on from the tightening-things dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Cryptocurrency investors in South Korea will be fined for refusing to convert their virtual accounts into real-name ones, financial authorities said Sunday. The move comes as South Korea is scrambling to rein in the virtual currency frenzy in Asia's fourth-largest economy, including preparations for a bill to ban cryptocurrency exchanges at home. According to the authorities, cryptocurrency traders will be allowed to convert their virtual accounts into real-name ones within this month, but those who refuse to accede to real-name identification will face fines.

35 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong move South Korea by volodymyrbiryuk · · Score: 1

    Wait untill they all move to the freedom loving North Korea and become BTC billionaires and enjoy a lavish life alongside the great chubby leader.

    --
    sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
    1. Re:Wrong move South Korea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      This article is not about banning crypto, it's about fining traders who don't convert their virtual accounts into real-name accounts. I'm surprised it took the Korean gov't this long, what with their real name requirements for general internet use.

    2. Re:Wrong move South Korea by infolation · · Score: 1

      South Korea doesn't require real names for general internet use. That was proposed in 2007-2009 and struck down in 2012. I was working in Seoul in November & December last year. There was no real name requirement to use the internet.

    3. Re:Wrong move South Korea by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      CNBC reports, as of 13 hours ago, that South Korea is still considering a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges. So it's still up in the air.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    4. Re:Wrong move South Korea by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      China closed cryptocurrency exchanges On November 1st. People hope the ban will be lifted, but crypto exchanges are dead for now, in China. Unless you have some facts showing otherwise?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    5. Re: Wrong move South Korea by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Uh, it's in Hong Kong. Now, if you want to say that's China - well, how about you ask the founder if he'd mind running operations in China? Hong Kong is different. We went through this earlier. Different passports, different currencies, different laws, different languages, different country codes for phones, different immigration/visa requirements - it's China in name only, functionally. So... Go for it! If you're convinced, try to go open up a Crypto exchange right over the border in Luohu, Shenzhen. And make sure and write from prison!

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  2. Bitcoin scam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Bitcoin and all other so-called cryptocurrencies are just a new form of Ponzi Scheme most people cannot understand apparently. Just look at it from investor point of view and see how it is actually same as a Ponzi scheme! If they are not banned globally they would lead world economy into a crash eventually!

    1. Re:Bitcoin scam by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      Not ponzi scheme since there is not once person at the top that gets all the money at any point. I don't think bitcoin is wise as investment, though mining I can see the point for the near term. Even so, it's like a futures market more than anything else.

    2. Re: Bitcoin scam by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      false, the energy used is utterly negligible. if you paid attention at the article about it I even calculated the percent comparison to U.S. electricity consumption.....the fast answer is that it's essentially zero. Wall warts and power bricks are a bigger concern than bitcoin.

    3. Re:Bitcoin scam by deesine · · Score: 1

      Envy fuels the fire. Compassion helps rebuild. Good intentions ensure the process is repeated.

      --
      damaged by dogma
    4. Re:Bitcoin scam by magzteel · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not ponzi scheme since there is not once person at the top that gets all the money at any point. I don't think bitcoin is wise as investment, though mining I can see the point for the near term. Even so, it's like a futures market more than anything else.

      I think cryptocoins are neither currencies nor commodities. To me they look like collectibles with the "scarcity" built into the design . They could be baseball cards, comic books, beanie babies, whatever. One advantage they have though is better liquidity than other collectibles.

    5. Re: Bitcoin scam by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

      Add on top of that, the current method for verifying transactions won't be necessary much longer and things are about to get much more efficient (100x).

      Is there another BTC fork planned? Will it be approved by everyone, including the Bitcoin Core team? Will the mining farms switch to it, will they have any choice?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    6. Re:Bitcoin scam by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

      The only collectibles with excellent liquidity are wines.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    7. Re:Bitcoin scam by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Rule of Acquisition #10: Greed is eternal.

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      #DeleteFacebook
    8. Re: Bitcoin scam by mukinrestak · · Score: 1

      It's winter here. I could produce heat via a heater, or I could keep my feet warm with my graphics card instead. One of these options costs me money, the other earns me more than it costs.

    9. Re:Bitcoin scam by Mr307 · · Score: 1

      Whether intentional or not, because of its unregulated nature, all crypto currencies are some hybrid of an MLM/Ponzi/Pyramid scam.

      The most charitable view of them at this time is an unregulated form of gambling, with near zero risk possibly actually zero risk for the house.

    10. Re:Bitcoin scam by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      One advantage they have though is better liquidity than other collectibles.

      Disagree. I never had to pay a 30-60 $ transaction fee to get or dump a Beanie Baby.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    11. Re:Bitcoin scam by magzteel · · Score: 1

      One advantage they have though is better liquidity than other collectibles.

      Disagree. I never had to pay a 30-60 $ transaction fee to get or dump a Beanie Baby.

      Liquidity is more about a robust buying and selling environment than the transaction cost which eats into the profits

      Here's an interesting article on the Beanie Baby bust
      http://fortune.com/2015/03/11/...

    12. Re:Bitcoin scam by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Liquidity also has an element of time.

      BTC has a built-in time lag so large, juxtaposed against BTC volatility that value is a fleeting thing.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  3. So many salty nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    99% of the anti-crypto-currency posts on here are from nerds that missed the boat and are pissed that their friends are paying off houses and driving fancy cars from small investments made just a couple years ago.

    Even if you think that BTC/Crypto is a crazy tulip bubble, that doesn't change the fact that a $100 investment in eth a couple years ago would be worth $375k now.

    There are still cheap coins with potential, there are still opportunities. Accept that you missed a couple boats, that doesn't mean you have to sit on your island and scream over the empty water.

    1. Re:So many salty nerds by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

      There are still cheap coins with potential, there are still opportunities. Accept that you missed a couple boats, that doesn't mean you have to sit on your island and scream over the empty water.

      Investing in the vast majority of crypto currency now would not be too wise. Bitcoin was the real breadwinner in the group, and whilst other coins have enjoyed appreciation of their value, they were being pulled up by the value of bitcoin. The days of making easy quick money in cryptocurrency is most likely over; they seem to have peaked now. They may go up again in spurts but overall, I think we've hit a plateau. Fantastic for those who invested a year or more ago; less fantastic for those joining in more recently.

      The exception would be, if a currency came along that had some game changing philosophy or technological advancement. Such a coin might be worth investing in still; but most of the coins out there now are based on one of 3 or 4 methodologies.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    2. Re: So many salty nerds by Mr307 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nothing was made.

      Some gambled and won, most will lose.

    3. Re:So many salty nerds by Brett+Buck · · Score: 1

      A fair bit of the pro-pseudo-currency investors are too young or have too short a memory to recall the previous bubbles. How is pets.com stock doing these days?

    4. Re:So many salty nerds by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      It's still not too late to buy a few thousand Digibyte, Reddcoin and Dogecoin.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    5. Re:So many salty nerds by dknj · · Score: 2

      2006 housing bubble. same thing. when you see a bubble forming, hop on that shit. then hop off the gravy train when you realize suckers are getting in (mom and pop investors getting into BTC as example)

    6. Re:So many salty nerds by Srin+Tuar · · Score: 1

      The funny thing is they are still missing the boat. The slashdot fogey skepticism is no different in the 10K range now than it was in the 1k range, nor than it will be in the 100K range.

      Other than the total collapse of the dollar, i dont know what it will take to wake them up... the geeks of yesteryear became the luddites of the present day.

    7. Re: So many salty nerds by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

      Some gambled and won, most will lose.

      Look at it like an accountant. X dollars have been paid by buyers, and X dollars have been paid to sellers, minus Y dollars paid in fees. Of the X-Y dollars paid to sellers, a significant amount has been paid to criminals who stole various amounts of bitcoin. And another quite signifcant amount has been paid for mining hardware and mining power.

      Not sure what role the losers are playing who managed to lose various amounts of bitcoin.

    8. Re:So many salty nerds by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      The math doesn't work, does it?

      First, we have to know the population of /.ers, both registered and Ac.

      Then we'd have to know how many of those have friends.

      See where this leads?

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    9. Re: So many salty nerds by jwymanm · · Score: 1

      A lot of coins are proof of stake (PoS) so you can still safely buy in at the top (FOMO buying) and make daily interest on your investment. Your total might be lower but you'll still be earning a living wage or greater than a normal job if you bought enough.

  4. Resemblence to a pyramid scheme by sjbe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not ponzi scheme since there is not once person at the top that gets all the money at any point.

    Pyramid schemes don't have to have a single person at the top. Furthermore there IS a small group at the top, namely the folks who created bitcoin and did the early mining. They absolutely stand to profit massively from additional later people coming into the scheme who are unlikely to seem much if any profit.

    Yes bitcoin has a LOT of the features of a pyramid scheme and multi-level marketing. Whether not it is actually a fraudulent activity the resemblance is uncanny.

    1. Re:Resemblence to a pyramid scheme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      At which point WTF is the bitcoin for is we're not actually using the blockchain for the ledger and are instead trusting an exchange to do the job of a bank?

    2. Re:Resemblence to a pyramid scheme by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Yes bitcoin has a LOT of the features of ... multi-level marketing.

      OK, now you did it! It's one thing to call it a pyramid scheme, and a way for drug users and kiddie pr0n addicts to pay for their habits. But to compare them to Amway? That's just low...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    3. Re:Resemblence to a pyramid scheme by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      "Fraudulent" doesn't apply until a fraud is actually committed.

      BTC is like Pet Rocks ... except worse.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  5. Ban exchanges at home? by PPH · · Score: 1

    There are other currencies for which BTC can be exchanged*. And an unnamed account hosted on a server 'somewhere' will be pretty difficult to tie back to a South Korean national. So, good luck with this.

    *The US dollar comes to mind. Probably the world's most liquid and negotiable currency. So I doubt many South Koreans will have problems loading up dollar denominated prepaid cards from BTC and using them at home. In fact, who do you think whispers in the foreign banking communities ears about how something or other is evil? And needs to be outlawed (thus creating a cost to using their home currencies) while ours remains freely available for shuffling funds around.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  6. Clueless by sjbe · · Score: 1

    And? you also just described the entire federal banking system as well.

    Only to someone who has no idea how the federal banking system actually works.