South Korean financial majors want to create virtual assets exchange in 2023: Report

Published at: Aug. 22, 2022

Samsung Securities is among seven large South Korean securities companies that have applied for government approval to create a virtual assets exchange, according to a report appearing in South Korean publication Newspim. The companies are aiming to create a corporation to open an exchange in the first half of next year. Newspim quoted an unidentified executive as saying that discussions on the project are now being finalized.

According to the local coverage, Samsung Securities has been studying ways to develop and operate a securities token trading platform, and was unable to recruit the necessary personnel to proceed last year. Mirae Asset Consulting, an affiliate of Mirae Asset Securities, South Korea’s largest investment banking and stock brokerage by market cap, is hiring personnel for cryptocurrency and nonfungible token (NFT) research and development as well.

The report also mentioned NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities and Shinhan Financial Investment. KB Bank announced earlier this year that it was preparing to launch South Korea’s first crypto investment products to retail investors.

Related: Crypto tax can wait, free coins can’t: S. Korea mulls ‘gift tax’ for airdrops

The creation of a supposed virtual assets exchange may be facilitated by regulatory liberalization instituted by the government of Yoon Seok-yeol, who took office in March. The securities companies’ push to create the exchange coincides with preparations to pass the Digital Assets Framework Act, which will encompass both security-type tokens and non-security-type tokens, and establish which domestic virtual assets belong in which category, the report said. The country’s Financial Services Commission had come under criticism in the pastfor its regulation of crypto currency exchanges.

Earlier this month, the South Korean Financial Intelligence Unit found 16 foreign-based crypto exchanges, including KuCoin, Poloniex and Phemex, were operating without proper registration and took a series of actions against them, including requesting that their websites be blocked.

Tags
Related Posts
Dubai financial regulator working on regulations for cryptocurrencies
The Dubai Financial Services Authority, the financial regulatory agency for the special economic zone, the Dubai International Financial Centre, is looking to enhance local cryptocurrency-related regulations. The DFSA is planning to introduce a regulatory framework for diverse digital assets as part of its 2021–2022 business plan released on Jan. 18. According to the DFSA, the upcoming crypto framework will further expand the DFSA’s regulation of digital asset issuers and associated trading platforms. The framework will include a number of digital asset types like tokenized securities and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC): “We will build upon recent achievements in this space over …
Bitcoin / Jan. 19, 2021
'Banks will have to adjust' to crypto, says Bank of England leader
Blockchain and digital assets offer folks the ability to store their own assets, possibly threatening the solutions banks offer. Making sure banks remain relevant is not on the to-do list of England's central bank, however, according to the Bank of England's deputy governor Jon Cunliffe. “Our job is not to protect bank business models,” Cunliffe said, as reported by a Friday Reuters brief. “Banks will have to adjust," he added. "Our job is to ensure that if bank business models change, we manage the financial and macro-economic consequences of that.” Cunliffe posited that it is not the responsibility of the …
Regulation / Nov. 13, 2020
$2.5T crypto market will not wait for nations to onboard: WazirX CEO
Indian entrepreneur and the CEO of crypto exchange WazirX Nischal Shetty envisions a race between countries to launch their local versions of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in the coming year. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Shetty said that the year 2022 would be an extension of the ongoing discussions around crypto regulations, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the emergence of the metaverse: “We’re optimistic that we’ll get regulatory clarity, see institutional participation fuel retail adoption. We also expect to see more metaverse projects making an entrance.” Shetty pointed out that the crypto industry today — directly or indirectly — employs about 50,000 …
Adoption / Dec. 29, 2021
CTFC commissioner proposes office focused on retail crypto investors
Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner (CFTC) Caroline Pham has proposed the creation of an “Office of the Retail Advocate” aimed at expanding the CFTC's consumer protection mandate. Pham referred to the office as a “voice for the people” in a speech given at an event hosted by blockchain project Corda on Sept. 27, suggesting recent events in crypto make retail protection a more pressing issue, noting: “The crypto crash, risk management failures, and substantial retail losses, gives urgency to the need to balance innovation with retail protection and appropriate regulation.” Pham has modeled the proposed office on the Security and Exchange …
Blockchain / Sept. 29, 2022
FSB, IMF and BIS papers to set global crypto framework, says G20
The Financial Stability Board (FSB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) will deliver papers and recommendations establishing standards for a global crypto regulatory framework, announced on Feb. 25 the group of the 20 biggest economies of the world, collectively known as G20. According to a document summarizing the outcomes of the meeting with finance ministers and central bank governors, the FSB will release by July 2023 recommendations on the regulation, supervision and oversight of global stablecoins, crypto assets activities and markets. The next guidance is expected for September 2023, when the FSB and the …
Adoption / Feb. 26, 2023