Top economic official cites taxation of cryptocurrency trading

By Lim Chang-won Posted : January 16, 2018, 10:39 Updated : January 16, 2018, 10:39

Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon [Photo by Namkung Jinwoong = timeid@ajunews.com]



SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Aju News) -- South Korea's top economic official floated the idea of-of levying taxes on cryptocurrency trading Tuesday and said the shutdown of exchanges is still a viable option.

Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon apologized for confusion over how to map out "reasonable" regulations. "I feel sorry because the government did not give a consistent message" because there are no viable, concerted global standards, he told a radio talk show.

"The shutdown of virtual currency exchanges is still a viable option," he said, adding the government has yet to complete negotiations on the level of regulations.

Cryptocurrency has been a daily hot topic among government officials, politicians and ordinary citizens since Justice Minister Park Sang-ki proposed a
a ban on trading that triggered a strong backlash from investors, confusion, panic selling and widespread debate.

A petition, posted on December 28 at the presidential website to oppose regulations, was endorsed by more than 202,000 people. The website's window for public petitions has been flooded with thousands of appeals related to cryptocurrency trading.

Under pressure from financial regulators, major commercial banks are working on a real-name system that would allow only real-name bank accounts and matching accounts at cryptocurrency exchanges to be used for deposits and withdrawals.

Nearly two million people in South Korea are estimated to have used cryptocurrency applications with smartphones in the past week, according to WiseApp, an application analytics company.


 
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