South Korea's central bank sets up working group to study impact of cryptocurrencies

Rage Review : The Bank of Korea recently announced the establishment of a new working group to study the impact of cryptocurrencies on traditional finance. Combined with the recent news that the Korean financial regulator investigated six large local banks for cryptocurrency transactions, it is not difficult to see that South Korea is doing its best to bring the cryptocurrency market under management. At the same time, the South Korean government seems to realize that it needs to further understand cryptocurrencies in order to formulate the most appropriate management policy.

Translation: Ina

South Korea’s central bank has set up a cryptocurrency working group to study the technology’s impact on the financial system.

According to local news outlet Pulse News, the bank said the task force will consist of personnel from eight departments, including financial stability and monetary policy agencies, who will study the impact of digital currencies.

The new organization will be led by Shin Ho-soon, deputy governor of the Bank of Korea, and the central bank will be responsible for managing and assisting it. The Bank of Korea is also seeking to explore a central bank-backed digital currency as part of the project.

The announcement comes after South Korea raised concerns about the impact that the surge in cryptocurrency prices could have on the traditional financial system.

Earlier this week, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea have begun investigating six banks to clarify their relationship with the South Korean Bitcoin trading ecosystem. The two regulators said the move is aimed at checking whether the banks comply with anti-money laundering regulations when dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges.

The South Korean government already said last month that it would introduce more regulation on exchanges, which could include a ban on anonymous trading. Recent reports suggest the government is pushing for measures targeting local bitcoin exchanges.