South Korea will regulate, not ban, cryptocurrency trading
South Korea has no plans to ban cryptocurrency trading, according to government authorities. The announcement follows reports earlier this month that the country was considering shutting down trading because of tax evasion, which led to massive disruption on trading platforms around the world. However, the government does plan to tighten regulation and crack down on illegal practices within the area. South Korea's finance minister Kim Dong-yeon said, "Customs service has been closely looking at illegal foreign exchange trading using cryptocurrency as part of the government's task force," and noted that it has detected around 637.5 billion won ($596.02 million) worth of foreign exchange crimes, with cryptocurrency forming the bulk of that figure. In one instance, an illegal exchange agency took 1.7 billion won ($1.59 million) from residents in the form of "electric wallet" coins and transferred them to a partner agent abroad. The agent then cashed them o...