KRX Chief says it’s time to embrace cryptocurrencies

At the 2021 Global ETP Conference, CEO of Korea Exchange (KRX) Sohn Byung-doo stated that the digital asset industry is not very different from capital markets

Sohn Byung-doo, the CEO of Korea Exchange (KRX), believes that it is indeed time to embrace digital assets.

At the stage of the 2021 Global ETP Conference, Sohn Byung-doo stated that the digital asset industry is not very different from capital markets. The executive emphasized the need for investor protection and transaction stability support.

So far, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies remain outside the domestic regulatory scope that covers the traditional financial sector.

On that note, Byung-doo highlighted the growing number of crypto investors in South Korea, estimated to be nearly 5 million, as well as the rapidly increasing daily trade volume in the country’s crypto market, which is right behind the stock market.

The Korean crypto-asset daily market trading volume is nearly $12 billion, while that of Korea’s composite index, KOSPI, is a little over $16 billion.

While stating that the country needs to study and explore ways to embrace the burgeoning industry, the former regulator also urged for the implementation of proper regulation that will aid in institutionalizing the asset class.

Earlier this week, South Korea’s finance ministry announced its decision to delay plans of taxing cryptocurrency profits for some time. According to an amendment approved by the South Korean National Assembly’s finance committee, the crypto tax law, which was slated to come into action from 1st January 2022, has been pushed for a year.

The initial announcement around taxing crypto profits sparked massive debates and backlash for cryptocurrency investors across the country. It proposed to levy a 20% tax on digital asset gains over the amount of $2,100. As a result, many crypto investors swarmed South Korea’s Cheongwadae or the Blue House website with petitions condemning the tax plan.