South Korea’s Central Bank Will End The ICO Ban

South Korea’s Central Bank will end the ICO (initial coin offerings) ban as it expressed support for new policy reform. The blanket prohibition may be coming to an end.

The prohibition was originally imposed in late 2017 when crypto fever gripped the country, and the government responded with a slew of punitive measures. However, several large corporations allege that the restriction has stymied their intentions to develop crypto assets as part of their long-term business strategy. Now, South Korea’s Central Bank will end the ICO ban.

Since the prohibition, companies like Kakao and the Hyundai Group have resorted to issuing currencies through offshore affiliates in places like Switzerland and Singapore. Firms, on the other hand, are eager to issue currencies through domestic means. And President Yoon Seok-yul, who took office in May, has signaled that he is willing to abolish the ban once and for all.

Companies like the savings provider OK Financial Group and the SK subsidiary SK Square have already revealed their plans to issue coins, with many more eager to follow suit.

However, the BOK’s newest decision may be the final nail in the ban’s coffin. According to Newsis, the BOK presented a document today on the implications of the EU’s crypto law, which contained a set of recommendations for the South Korean government.

The BOK noted in the document that any new crypto-specific law should “institutionally facilitate the issue of new domestic crypto assets,” although it did caution that all ICOs should be subject to regulatory monitoring.

According to the bank, EU initiatives demonstrated that authorities could apply “the same level of regulation” to ICOs as they do to crypto exchanges.

According to a spokeswoman, easing the restriction and permitting regulated ICOs might “promote the growth of associated sectors” while also offering “safety for users and investors.”

The same report also mentioned the necessity for stablecoins to “implement Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA)-level rules,” and noted that upcoming crypto legislation will not cover any central bank digital currency (CBDC)-related issues.

Recent South Korea News

In recent South Korea news that pertains to the crypto sphere, the South Korean police performed a raid in which it arrested 78 individuals on the suspicion of using crypto assets to purchase and sell drugs online. This was done via the dark web.

While the police captured young individuals who bought drugs, it couldn’t capture any of the dark web operators as their identity was harder to find. The dark web operators remain at large at the moment.