South Korea Approves First Phase of Review of its Crypto Bill

The first phase of review for South Korea’s legislation on how to regulate digital assets, focusing on consumer protection and excluding central bank digital currencies, was passed on Tuesday in the country’s National Assembly.

It is anticipated that the bill will turn into law in the first half of this year. The bill outlines “virtual assets” as an “electronic representation of an economic value that can be traded or transferred electronically.”

It also necessitates crypto service providers to keep user assets and deposits separate from the providers’ assets, to be insured, to set aside reserves in the event of hacks or system failures, and to keep records of all transactions.

Furthermore, it states that not including the required information in investor disclosures, price manipulation, and false promotion of crypto assets are all criminal offenses, punishable by one year in prison, or a fine of three to five times the amount of unfairly earned profits.