The South Korean government may soon lift the ban it put on local Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in September 2017. The move, presented in a bill by National Assembly Representative Hong Eui-rak with ten others was tabled in parliament on Wednesday, May 2nd.
The ban was imposed on the grounds that ICO tokens are highly volatile and would encourage speculative investments in cryptocurrencies. They now seek to regulate ICOs through the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Science & Technology and ICT.
The lift, which will not give unlimited freedom altogether, leans more towards the formation of ICOs through Public Organizations and Research Centers for programs and projects based on blockchain.
The National Assembly Speaker Chun Sye-Kyun also supported the bill in a move suggesting the government’s own initiative to regulate the crypto space. The government is also looking at imposing taxation policies on token sales among the ways in which to help curb uncertainties that are rife with cryptocurrencies as well as eliminate fraudulent parties whose sole agenda in creating ICOs is to fleece the populace.
This comes after the leading giant in the country Bithumb threatened to launch ICOs outside the country. This would have led to big losses in cryptocurrency trading and blockchain technology development which would have been transferred to other countries. This may be the cue that led the government to fasten frameworks for secure operations, unlike China who continues to enforce a total ban on cryptocurrencies.
South Korea has one of the highest cryptocurrency uptakes in the globe with various outlets including many local vendors.