Major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea have reached agreements with Korean banks to continue issuing real name accounts, media announced.
The agreements, even if they are not yet permanent, will allow trading platforms to register with tax authorities before the September 24 compliance deadline.
Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit have partnerships with Korean banks Banks have reportedly agreed to continue issuing real name accounts on major digital asset exchanges in South Korea.
The agreements have yet to be finalized, but the confirmations received will allow the forex trading platforms to complete their registration with the country’s tax authorities before the regulatory deadline expires at the end of this month. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Nonghyup Bank announced that the institute had agreed to renew agreements to issue real-name accounts for traders Bithumb and Coinone.
According to a report by Korea Jongang Daily, the agent confirmed that the bank will provide the exchanges with the necessary documents to finalize their contracts. The current agreements with the two crypto platforms are expected to expire on September 24th, when the new, stricter industry regulations passed in March are enforced.
While the previous contracts were renewed every six months, this time the bank refused to disclose the terms of the last contracts, the English edition of Joongang Ilbo noted. In this regard, Shinhan Bank announced that it will continue to issue real name accounts for Korbit, another leading Korean exchange. However, the bank noted that the confirmation does not mean that the contract with the crypto company has been officially renewed.
The document was released for the exchange to continue its registration process, a spokesman explained, and further details: The partnership renewal will be announced before the September 24th deadline, but for now we will be canceling it for later.
According to the Korean newspaper, the statement suggests the bank is considering potentially expanding its partnership with Korbit but will likely wait for the exchange to be registered with the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The post cites another source as saying that the final announcement will likely be “last minute”. The current contract expires after September 24th. Korea’s four largest cryptocurrency exchanges will continue to operate under stricter rules Registration with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an anti-money laundering agency under the FSC, is an important requirement for the country’s current crypto regulations.
To enroll, Korean exchanges must not only partner with a bank to implement the real name account system, but also obtain an Information Security Management System (ISMS) certificate from the Korea Internet and Security Agency. The country’s four major crypto trading platforms have now successfully met both conditions. Upbit, the largest volume of transactions, was recorded last month.
The Korean online bank K Bank provides real-name accounts for the platform. However, the entire registration process can take up to three months. During that time, the financial regulators will review the filing and approve the application, the FSC noted earlier this week. In addition to Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit, 17 other exchanges have also received ISMS certification, according to an article in the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.
However, small cryptocurrency trading platforms struggled to convince Korean banks to provide them with the necessary services under the revised Special Fund Act. 59 Exchanges have not yet met the requirement and may have to close after the stricter rules come into effect.