Banks Responsible for Evaluation and Certification of Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The latest Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information is scheduled to become effective soon, and then virtual currency exchanges must have real-name accounts to continue with their business. However, banks are hesitating to give the accounts out of concerns over money laundering and so on.

The revised law will take effect on March 25 so that virtual currency exchanges are also responsible for money laundering prevention and their business is based on real-name bank accounts.
 

Banks are complaining. “It is the government that is responsible for evaluating and classifying those exchanges and yet it shifted the burden arbitrarily and even without any guidelines,” they said. They asked the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit to provide at least some guidelines, but it turned down the request.

Virtual currency exchanges are discontented as well. At present, only four (Bithumb, UPbit, Coinone and Korbit) out of approximately 120 domestic exchanges have their bank-issued real-name accounts and the business of the others is based on virtual accounts.

Given the six-month grace period, more than 100 exchanges must prepare bank-issued real-name accounts along with anti-money laundering systems within seven months. In addition, the four exchanges must undergo reassessment.