South Korean authorities request banks for information on Bitcoin exchanges

South Korea has asked banks for information relating to their dealings with cryptocurrency companies and exchanges. The Korea Herald reports.

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The financial regulator has required banking institutions to disclose information on Bitcoin exchanges that had not yet implemented customer identification via personal bank accounts. The newspaper’s source did not specify which agency issued the order.

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The approach is used by only the four largest cryptocurrency trading platforms in the country. The rest use corporate bank accounts to receive client funds.

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“Currently, cryptocurrency exchanges do not require a license to operate, so it's difficult to determine their exact number. One possible way to find out is to track the corporate bank accounts into which client funds are deposited,” explained a source from the publication.

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There are around 100-200 unregistered platforms operating in South Korea. According to amendments to the Law on the provision and use of information on certain financial transactions, they must register with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) by 24 September 2021.

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Companies that fail to meet FSC requirements face hefty fines, and their executives face prison terms.

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On 30 January 2018, local authorities banned anonymous cryptocurrency trading in the country. Each trader must identify themselves via a bank account, and the name on the exchange account must match the account holder's name.

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In April, regulators in South Korea joined forces to combat illicit transactions in digital assets.

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