May 08, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The frenzied buying of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies seen in January this year in Korea has been fizzling since the government banned anonymous trading of cryptocurrencies, a senior financial regulator said on June 26.

The assessment was made by Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, at a meeting of the Financial Stability Board, which coordinates at the international level the work of national financial authorities around the world, earlier this week, the FSC said in a statement.

On Jan. 7, a speculative rally in bitcoin in Korea prompted investors to pay premiums of 46.7 percent compared with international prices, according to the statement.

The so-called kimchi premium stood at 0.6 percent on June 19, the statement showed.

“Currently, there are small price gaps in cryptocurrency between local and international markets,” Kim was quoted as saying in the statement.

Korea began a real-name trading system for cryptocurrencies on Jan. 30, banning the use of anonymous bank accounts in transactions to prevent virtual coins from being used for money laundering and other illegal activities.
 
By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)