The Korean financial services commission and the Seoul metropolitan government have announced plans to invest $16 million in training digital finance experts for four years on Feb. 12. The application period to win the grant is March 4-6. Details of the new program The FSC explained that the demand for specialists in financial technology is increasing. The program aims to ensure educational opportunities for the next generation of fintech professionals. The program is going to start the second half of 2020 and will run until 2023 in the financial center in Yeouido district in the capital, Seoul. It is open …

Huobi is the latest firm to join the Klaytn Governance Council, a part of Kakao’s public blockchain project which runs its distributed network under the shared governance. The council grows According to an early morning press release, the move will bolster a roster of some of the world’s largest digital enterprises, including Binance, LG Electronics and Kakao, Klaytn’s parent company. Commenting on the addition, Sangmin Seo of council-member Ground X said: “We are excited for Huobi to work with other Council members to jointly run and govern the Klaytn platform, as well as create use cases that can foster the …

Since the end of World War II, the United States has been an undisputed global leader in innovation. From putting a man on the moon to the “Traitorous Eight” of Fairchild and the birth of today’s Silicon Valley, the U.S. has been at the forefront of embracing emerging technology. This position has given the country a strategic advantage in dictating how technology is adopted and setting the basic standards for its use. However, as we enter the new decade, the U.S. is at risk of losing its place as the leading innovator to Asia, impacting our technological future significantly. The …

South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance is considering imposing a 20% tax on income from cryptocurrency transactions. According to a report published by local English-language news outlet The Korea Times on Jan. 20, the ministry had reportedly ordered its income office to review cryptocurrency taxation. The Korea Times cited an anonymous official who reportedly said that the ministry has not finalized its plan, but noted that the government may impose a 20% tax on crypto income. News of the proposed rate follows reports earlier this month that South Korea is drafting a tax regime for profits made from trading …

Strengthening its walls after a hack in late 2019, South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has finished a security upgrade for the wallets on its exchange platform, restoring functionality once again. Upbit decided to update its defenses in response to an Ethereum (ETH) hack the exchange suffered in 2019, an Upbit representative confirmed to Cointelegraph in an email on Jan. 14, 2020, adding: “It is part of our effort to increase Upbit’s overall security since the Ethereum theft incident last November. Immediately following the incident, we suspended deposit/withdrawal services and transferred all crypto-assets to cold wallets. Since then, we’ve been revamping …

South Korea remains the third-largest crypto exchange market by volume, just behind the United States and Japan. Despite that, throughout the past three years, the government of South Korea has opted against fully regulating the local crypto market. In the second half of 2019, the government of South Korea started to work on several bills that would further legitimize the crypto sector and allow it to evolve into an established industry. Below is the complete timeline of the passing of bills and controversy surrounding the regulatory side of crypto in South Korea since 2017, and what is expected to come …

Bithumb, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, could invest more than $8 million into South Korea’s regulatory sandbox. Via its daughter company GCX Alliance, Bithumb has shown intent to put 10 billion won ($8 million) into South Korea’s “regulatory free zone” in Busan, according to reporting from Seoul on Jan. 9. Regulation-free zone South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan, has been the subject of prior headlines for its status as a deregulated outpost and for its desire to create a digital currency based on blockchain technology, as Cointelegraph reported in July 2019. In December 2019, KT, South Korea’s most sizable …

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has established its own research and development (R&D) center. According to an announcement on Jan. 6, the initiative makes Bithumb the first company with a blockchain and cryptocurrency research center in South Korea. Bithumb expressed high hopes for the research center’s impact on the company: “Bithumb will become a leading company in the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem by strengthening its own R&D capabilities.” The center’s purpose The new R&D center is going to employ around 30 people and will start its activities this month. Bithumb’s research team will study system architecture design to strengthen public …

The South Korean Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PCFIR) has recommended the government to allow financial institutions to launch cryptocurrency-based financial products. Local English-language news outlet BusinessKorea reported on Jan. 6 that the committee recommended products such as Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives to be allowed as part of a strategy for the institutionalization of cryptocurrencies. Crypto assets are here to stay The PCFIR also suggested that the local financial sector should develop and introduce a Korean custody solution to avoid relying only on foreign custodians when handling crypto assets. The committee also noted that Bitcoin should be listed directly …

Cryptocurrency and taxation laws are creating a great deal of confusion in South Korea. On Dec. 30, South Korea’s government stated that under current law, it cannot impose income taxes on individuals’ profits from transactions of cryptocurrency. This, however, contrasts with the National Tax Service’s recent imposition of an 80 billion won ($68.9 million) tax bill on local crypto exchange Bithumb Korea. On Dec. 29, The Korea Herald reported that South Korea’s local tax agency received 80 billion won ($68.9 million) in taxes from the exchange. The following day, Choi Kyo-il, a lawmaker of the Liberty Korea Party and member …

Major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is reportedly looking to undertake administrative litigation over an $68.9 million (80 billion won) tax bill. English-language local news outlet KoreaHerald reported on Dec. 29 that the local tax agency has handed down over 80 billion won in taxation on the exchange. A first occurrence of its kind in South Korea The outlet notes that according to documents published by Bithumb’s largest shareholder Vidente via the financial supervisory services, the National Tax Service forced the exchange to pay the withholding taxes on trading activities of foreign customers. Vidente reportedly found out about the tax …

South Korea's central bank, the Bank of Korea (BOK), plans to organize a task force dedicated to central bank digital currency (CBDC) research in the new year. In its “Monetary Policy for 2020” brief, published on Dec. 27, BOK said it would continue to build on its existing research into distributed ledger technology, crypto assets, and CBDCs and to play an active role in overseeing and enhancing the security of payment and settlement systems. Recruiting digital currency experts As part of its CBDC research agenda, BOK ostensibly plans to recruit additional experts in the field. On Dec. 10, the institution …