South Korea Bans all Initial Coin Offering Activity

Initial coin offerings are a big topic of conversation all over the world. Financial institutions and governments have not taken kindly to this concept whatsoever. In South Korea, the current regime revolves around banning ICOs altogether. This decision is not entirely surprising, as the country follows China’s lead in this regard. Companies are no longer allowed to raise money through ICO structures moving forward.

South Korea is an interesting country when it comes to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. With some of the world’s largest exchanges operating there, good things are on the horizon. However, the local financial regulator has no love for initial coin offerings. In fact, they banned the concept of an ICO altogether in the country. Not a big surprise, as other countries around the world, have taken a similar approach in this regard.

No More ICOs in South Korea

The Financial Services Commission is very concerned over the development of initial coin offerings. Moreover, the trading of virtual currencies needs to be controlled and monitored more tightly. Especially this latter part can have some major consequences for the cryptocurrency sector as a whole. For now, no one knows for sure how things will play out in this regard. We do know ICOs are no longer allowed, for obvious reasons.

According to the regulator, ICOs are becoming more popular as of late. That sounds a bit strange, as very few people know about Korean initial coin offerings these days. Then again, we do not have access to all information by any means. The current plan is to issue “stern penalties” to financial institutions who are involved in ICOs. It is unclear what the future will hold or how these penalties will materialize. Rest assured it is not a situation to trifle with right now.

South Korea has taken a liking to China’s stance on cryptocurrency ICOs. That in itself is both surprising and to be expected at the same time. China is taking a harsh stance and carefully manipulating the cryptocurrency markets in the process. South Korea seemingly wants to get rid of ICOs and leave Bitcoin untouched. It is likely we will see additional regulation from South Korea in the near future. For the time being, the Bitcoin price isn’t responding too kindly, but there is no major retrace either.