The decline is being largely attributed to fears
of cryptocurrency trading ban at South Korean exchanges — a possibility that is looking less certain after new statements from the government.
Although the extent and the actual weight of the
Chinese cryptocurrency trade ban are still questionable, the major coins outright crashed this week, accelerating the projected deep correction.
The decline is being largely attributed to fears of
cryptocurrency trading ban at South Korean exchanges — a possibility that is looking less certain after new statements from the government.
The majority of South Korean citizens in the online community of Blue House claimed that minister Park single handedly manipulated the global market by releasing a premature statement
on cryptocurrency trading ban, which was not agreed upon by the task force, and most importantly, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
Starting this week, to counterbalance the mishandling of the false
cryptocurrency trading ban by the Justice Ministry, the South Korean government and financial authorities have begun to regulate the local cryptocurrency market and businesses strictly.
Last week, Choi Heung Sik, director of the FSC, admitted that employees of the agency sold Bitcoin immediately before the
false cryptocurrency trading ban announcement of the country's Justice Minister Park Sang - ki and bought Bitcoin after the announcement.
In early December of last year, South Korea's Justice Minister Park Sang - ki was heavily criticized for his premature statement on a non-existent
cryptocurrency trading ban bill.
Earlier this month, almost immediately after unverified reports
about cryptocurrency trading ban in India were released, local cryptocurrency exchanges Zebpay, Coinsecure, and Unocoin, which have over a million users on their platforms, reaffirmed that the government's stance towards the local cryptocurrency exchange market has not changed, and it remains neutral.
It is difficult to measure the impact of the
foreigner cryptocurrency trading ban initiated by the South Korean government on the global cryptocurrency market given that the majority of cryptocurrency investors and traders in the South Korean market are the country's citizens.
The news about a
possible cryptocurrency trading ban out of South Korea hit the markets hard, causing most coins to sell off sharply in an immediate reaction, before recovering some of the losses.
On January 12, the Blue House, the executive office of President Moon Jae - in, made a public statement and apologized to South Korean citizens for the
recent cryptocurrency trading ban controversy.
Apart from the most popular petition to
prevent cryptocurrency trading ban from being imposed, many petitions have been submitted by South Korean citizens requesting the government to remove Park Sang - ki, the head of the Justice Ministry, from office.
In the aftermath of the South
Korean cryptocurrency trading ban fiasco, the approval rating of President Moon Jae - in hit an all - time low below 60 percent, and the government was heavily criticized for negligence.
Recently, the news of a South
Korea cryptocurrency trading ban, which was ultimately refuted by the country's government and the Blue House, the executive office of President Moon Jae - in, caused markets to rapidly decline.
During a press conference later in the day, both the ministries told local reporters that they first heard about a possibility of
cryptocurrency trading ban which was communicated by the Ministry of Justice through media reports.
After officially refuting the Justice Ministry's
cryptocurrency trading ban proposal, the South Korean government has allocated significant resources to regulate the local cryptocurrency market and provide a more stable and robust infrastructure to investors within the market.
said, if the market recovers from the initial FUD
on cryptocurrency trading ban, it is unlikely that the market will be impacted by the same piece of information in the mid to long - term.
However, in the past 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin Cash increased from $ 995 to $ 1,250, with volume heavily concentrated on OKEx, the Hong Kong - based cryptocurrency exchanges operated by OKCoin, formerly the largest cryptocurrency exchange in China prior to the country's
cryptocurrency trading ban in September 2017.
In a press conference, the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance told local reporters that it had first heard of the Ministry of Justice's
cryptocurrency trading ban through media reports.
Shortly after rumors started to circulate and the media began to report about the
false cryptocurrency trading ban, Arun Jaitley, the finance minister of India, clarified on national television that the government will not ban cryptocurrency trading.
According to Choi Heung Sik, the director of South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSC), the country's integrated financial regulator that examines and supervises financial institutions, several officials and employees of the FSC sold bitcoin immediately before the premature statement on a
possible cryptocurrency trading ban was released by Justice Minister Park Sang - ki.
However, after the Justice Ministry spoke of the impending ban (and, indeed, after the international market took a huge coinciding dip), local reports from South Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF, a key member of the crypto task force) said that the MOSF does not agree with the «premature statement of the Ministry of Justice about a potential
cryptocurrency trading ban.»
However, after the Justice Ministry spoke of an impending ban (and, indeed, after the international market took a huge coinciding dip), local reports from South Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF, a key member of the crypto task force) said that the MOSF does not agree with the «premature statement of the Ministry of Justice about a potential
cryptocurrency trading ban.»
Threats of
a cryptocurrency trading ban in South Korea follow actions taken by smaller economies concerned with the social cost of the new investment vehicles.
Since governor Nam's statement was released, the South Korean government has officially denied the implementation of
a cryptocurrency trading ban proposal introduced by the Ministry of Justice.
Firstly, comments on social media indicate there is unease in the investor community over talk of
a cryptocurrency trading ban in South Korea and further possible crackdowns on trading and mining in China.
In the last few weeks, South Korean financial authorities have been mulling the legalities of
a cryptocurrency trading ban, while executing inspections on commercial banks offering trading accounts to digital exchanges.
On January 11, Justice Minister Park stated that the ministry is working on drafting
a cryptocurrency trading ban bill in order to close down cryptocurrency exchanges.
On March 21, local cryptocurrency - focused media outlets reported that the NHN funded OKCoin — formerly the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in China prior to the country's
cryptocurrency trading ban in 2017 — was to launch OKCoin Korea.
«Today, Justice Minister Park independently released a statement on
a cryptocurrency trading ban policy that was not agreed upon by the government and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
Shortly thereafter, through the Blue House, the South Korean government publicly emphasized its stance on
the cryptocurrency trading ban controversy, and concluded that there will be no ban on cryptocurrency investment in the short - term.
Nearly 100,000 South Korean citizens have signed a petition requesting the government to prevent the Ministry of Justice from pursuing a potential
cryptocurrency trading ban.
Earlier today, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance stated that the agency found out about
the cryptocurrency trading ban proposal of minister Park through media reports, and was not made aware of it prior to the press conference, even though the two agencies along with the South Korean central bank are leading a cryptocurrency regulation task force.
Yesterday, on December 14, the South Korean government directly refuted unconfirmed reports on the possibility of
a cryptocurrency trading ban, solidifying its stance in regards to the South Korean cryptocurrency market and its intent to regulate the space.
The department has placed particular scrutiny on cryptocurrency exchanges that were formerly headquartered in mainland China but relocated their operations in response to the fiat - to -
cryptocurrency trading ban, which was put in force by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) last September.
Over the past 48 hours, the global cryptocurrency market struggled to rebound from a major correction triggered by South Korea Ministry of Justice head Park Sang - ki's premature statement on
a cryptocurrency trading ban, which was refuted by the country's Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the Blue House, the executive office of President Moon Jae - in.
Evidently,
the cryptocurrency trading ban proposal has not been finalized or even agreed upon by the South Korea Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
Recent volatility across the board, led by a crash in Ripple's valuation following South Korea's alleged announcement for
a cryptocurrency trading ban, shows that the industry is susceptible to massive swings.
Upon the fallout of
the cryptocurrency trading ban proposal by the Justice Ministry, cryptocurrencies heavily concentrated in the South Korean market in terms of daily trading volume and user base have increased in value.