By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
Leading South Korean exchange, Bithumb, is looking at barring members of its staff from accessing trading services on the exchange. Bithumb had earlier restricted its employees from using some services on the exchange. With the ban, employees would not be able to buy and sell crypto assets using Bithumb. According to an official statement released by Bithumb, the restriction would take effect this month.
The latest development came at a time when the exchange is seeking to foster openness and uphold regulatory guidelines within the firm. In line with its actions, the crypto platform’s employees were compelled to send out personal statements confirming accounts deactivation. Bithumb’s official statements also hinted at integrating an auditing and supervisory framework that will keep tabs on employees’ activities.
Employees of the exchange were also banned from engaging in trading activities while at work. Bithumb also enacted a code of conduct for its workers to prevent the occurrence of exposure of users’ data and illegal market activities.
Tougher Regulations Surface in South Korea
While the South Korean exchange has updated its restrictions, it is unconnected to the latest regulatory pressures being imposed by South Korea’s financial regulators on exchanges in the country including Bithumb. South Korea’s Financial Service Commission had issued a warning to exchanges compelling them to identify users’ accounts by their real names. Out of the 200 exchanges operating in South Korea, only a few have complied, partnering with banking institutions in the country to effect the directive.
Also read:A few banks have however expressed concerns over being held liable to fraudulent transactions using cryptocurrencies, financial authorities in order to address these concerns issued a new regulation late last month protecting banks from any form of liability. Still, the general mood on the partnership between banks and crypto exchanges is of skepticism. Irrespective of that, financial regulators expect exchanges to comply with the directive by September 2021, otherwise they may be forced to shut down operations in the country.
South Korea’s FSA Seizes $20 Million Worth of Crypto
In May, the FSA seized about $20 million worth of cryptocurrencies from tax defaulters. A large constituent of the seized cryptocurrencies was Bitcoin. However, some defaulters had to offset their outstanding taxes in order to retrieve their crypto assets as they believe the assets will increase in value later.
In the past few weeks, crypto platforms have come under intense scrutiny from regulatory bodies, with countries like the UK, US and Canada clamping down on their operations. Binance announced in an official statement last month that it was quitting the Canadian Province of Ontario and shutting down operations. The UK also issued a ban on the exchange barring it offering services to crypto traders. All of these events have significantly affected the crypto market making investors wonder at what the future holds. Buying pressure has increased nonetheless in anticipation for a bullish trend in the coming months.
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