South Korea Will Require Exchanges To Reserve 3 Bln Won From September This Year

According to guidelines published by the Korea Federation of Banks, South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges will be required to reserve at least 3 billion won ($2.3 million) starting from September. The move is part of South Korea's broader strategy to step up consumer protection measures in the growing crypto industry, according to local media outlet News1.

Virtual Asset Real-Name Account Operation Guidelines stipulate that exchanges must hold in reserves an amount equivalent to 30% of their average daily deposits. This is necessary to fulfill the liability for damages to users in the event of an accident such as hacking or computer failure. The maximum limit for such reserves is 20 billion won. The largest Korean crypto exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb, have already declared their compliance with these new requirements.

Last month, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) held a meeting to strengthen the compliance capacity of virtual asset service providers. The meeting took place the day after the creation of an inter-agency investigation team, which included at least 30 investigators from various agencies, including the Financial Supervision Service and the National Tax Service. The purpose of the division is to combat crimes related to cryptocurrencies, which are growing in number.

Image: Cryptopolitan