Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
South Korea Clamps Down on Bitcoin Trading Amid Market Frenzy
Source: New York Times
South Korea Clamps Down on Bitcoin Trading Amid Market Frenzy
By RAYMOND ZHONG DEC. 28, 2017
South Korea will require people who trade Bitcoin and other virtual currencies to do so under their real names, the country’s government said on Thursday, as part of efforts to curb speculation.
Bitcoin, the best-known virtual currency, has been on a gravity-defying bull run over the past few months. The price of a Bitcoin started the year at around $1,000 and topped $19,000 earlier this month, causing swarms of ordinary savers around the world to get in on what remains a largely unregulated — and highly volatile — investment.
Nowhere, though, has the frenzy over virtual currencies been as fevered, or as sudden, as in South Korea.
Until recently, markets for Bitcoin and its competitors barely existed in the country. But a spurt of interest has swept up ordinary people from students to retirees. Trading has become so popular that some South Korean exchanges have set up physical storefronts where the uninitiated can learn more and buy in.
Requiring that trading take place using real names brings virtual currencies like Bitcoin more in line with other financial products in South Korea. Although Bitcoin has shed some of its associations with payment for illegal activity, the real-name policy set out on Thursday could also make it easier for the South Korean government to track transactions and to tax capital gains from virtual-currency investments. The price of Bitcoin tumbled after the announcement.
-snip-
By RAYMOND ZHONG DEC. 28, 2017
South Korea will require people who trade Bitcoin and other virtual currencies to do so under their real names, the country’s government said on Thursday, as part of efforts to curb speculation.
Bitcoin, the best-known virtual currency, has been on a gravity-defying bull run over the past few months. The price of a Bitcoin started the year at around $1,000 and topped $19,000 earlier this month, causing swarms of ordinary savers around the world to get in on what remains a largely unregulated — and highly volatile — investment.
Nowhere, though, has the frenzy over virtual currencies been as fevered, or as sudden, as in South Korea.
Until recently, markets for Bitcoin and its competitors barely existed in the country. But a spurt of interest has swept up ordinary people from students to retirees. Trading has become so popular that some South Korean exchanges have set up physical storefronts where the uninitiated can learn more and buy in.
Requiring that trading take place using real names brings virtual currencies like Bitcoin more in line with other financial products in South Korea. Although Bitcoin has shed some of its associations with payment for illegal activity, the real-name policy set out on Thursday could also make it easier for the South Korean government to track transactions and to tax capital gains from virtual-currency investments. The price of Bitcoin tumbled after the announcement.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/business/south-korea-bitcoin.html
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
