Could 2020 See South Korea Accept Bitcoin As A Financial Product?

China rocked the cryptocurrency community with an announcement that it was going to be implementing a digital version of the Great Wall of China to keep foreign crypto exchanges and currencies out of the hands of Chinese people.

While they are deeply interested in the blockchain technology and the creation and implementation of digital coinage they are not willing to open up a modern Silk Road crypto-trade route between the West and the East.

 A Shining Knight

In an unexpected turn of events, South Korea has stepped up as an Asian ambassador for cryptocurrency integration in a move that is reminiscent of how the UK and other thought leaders chose to address the legislation and regulation of online gambling – with licencing.

Their reasoning for promoting a regulated South Korean crypto market is:

"As of May 2019, daily crypto-asset trade hit more than 80 trillion won (about US$69 billion) in the world, so it is no longer possible to stop crypto-asset trade."

A Presidential Commission, the 4th Industrial Revolution Commission, advised the Korean government that in order to secure a future proof financial platform for the region they follow in the footsteps of the USA by allowing local businesses to release products based on Bitcoin.

 It Worked For Online Gambling

By controlling the creation and implementation of the process Korea would setup local custodians to manage the operations in-country, eliminating the need for foreign oversight. They would then allow Bitcoin to list directly on the Korean Exchange and control the release of localised Bitcoin derivatives.

"Participants in the traditional capital market such as securities firms and banks should develop and introduce domestic custody solutions to handle crypto assets so that the Korean crypto-asset custody market will not depend on foreign countries"

To ensure that Korea is able to protect its citizens while also ensuring the program creates a sustainable revenue stream for government coffers the Commission recommended following a systems of licencing and regulation which would be supported by a series of guidelines which all potential exchanges and other cryptocurrency products would need to abide by in order to operate legally in the region.

"The Korean government has to gradually allow institutional investors to deal in crypto-assets and promote over the counter (OTC) desks dedicated to institutional investors’ trade."

 A final decision is yet to reached on when and how this will be rolled out, however, the general consensus seems to be that South Korea could soon become a hub for crypto sales and product creation.