Virtual Currencies Not Regarded as Financial Assets

The price of bitcoin has crashed below 11 million won.

The price of bitcoin, the number one cryptocurrency by market cap, has crashed.

Bitcoin was traded for 10.37 million won (US$8,645.61) as of 6:20 a.m. on Sept. 25, down a whopping 10.87 percent from a day ago, according to Seoul-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. The figure dropped as much as 1.25 million won (US$1,041.67) from the previous trading day. The value of Ethereum also fell 17.56 percent to 198,600 won (US$165.50).

Bitcoin's price stood at 11.30 million won (US$9,416.67) as of 3 a.m. on the same day but plunged 800,000 won (US$666.61) just in 30 minutes. The figure rebounded about 2 percent around at 5 a.m. but it was not enough to prevent the downturn.

Meanwhile, the interpretation committee of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) under the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) concluded in June that bitcoin and other virtual coins cannot be classified as financial assets. The committee discussed how to apply the IFRS to cryptocurrencies during a meeting in London, U.K., according to the Korea Accounting Standards Board (KASB) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Sept. 23.

With the latest conclusion, market experts say it will be even more difficult for virtual coins to enter the financial system in South Korea. They also believe that companies and the government now have meaningful standards how to handle the accounting of virtual currencies and impose taxation.

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