- The central bank and the finance watchdog are competing over crypto jurisdiction
- Giving the central bank authority over crypto would put crypto on par with traditional assets
The central bank of South Korea has been authorized to investigate cryptocurrency issues and operators against the backdrop of further talks on virtual asset laws in the Asian country, CoinTelegraph reported, citing a publication by the Korea Herald.
The central bank and South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) had been competing over crypto jurisdiction. The latter has the final say in governing digital asset regulations.
Concerns over financial stability risks
The Bank of Korea has expressed concerns over stablecoins’ financial stability risks and can now ask crypto exchanges for transaction data.
The South Korean government has been making efforts to push crypto laws forward despite incessant arguments over jurisdiction. Legislator Kim Han-gyu, who proposed South Korea’s Crypto Assets Act, said:
The Financial Services Commission admits that it is necessary for the Bank of Korea to have the right to request data, but it is refusing to include it in the bill.
Crypto is not a traditional financial asset
The FSC alarmed that giving the central bank authority over crypto would put it on par with traditional assets. The chair of the FSC has said before that crypto is not a financial asset.
The central bank and the FSC have been facing off on the issue for years. Officials from the Political Affairs Committee have accused the FSC of trying to monopolize its position on digital regulation.
Now, both institutions will be allowed to probe crypto operators and will have the right to access transaction data. It’s not clear how they will cooperate. The FSC takes the position that crypto assets are securities like its US counterpart, the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In related news, the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office of Seoul recently seized around $160 million worth of assets from a number of individuals linked toTerraform Labs, including Daniel Shin, one of the founders.
