SEOUL, March 2 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea is believed to have raked in more than US$200 million via digital cryptocurrency transactions last year amid international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs, a U.S. broadcaster reported Friday, citing a former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) cyber security official. The North is estimated to have [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Bitcoin made up 32.7 percent of all cryptocurrency trading in South Korea in December, the lowest ratio among global exchanges, a local think tank said Sunday. In a report released Sunday on the Korean cryptocurrency trade and its characteristics, the Korea Insurance Research Institute (KIRI) said the ratio of [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of users accessing cryptocurrency apps has shrunk for a second straight week, a possible reflection of Bitcoin’s cratering value over the past few weeks. App market research firm Wiseapp said on February 6 that an analysis of 23,000 Android smartphone users’ habits over a 14-week period (from [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s “kimchi premium” — a reference to the 15 to 25 percent premium on Bitcoin prices locally compared with foreign markets — is now reversed, with the price of one unit of the most widely known cryptocurrency dropping below valuations abroad. According to Bithumb, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea began a real-name trading system for cryptocurrencies Tuesday, banning the use of anonymous bank accounts in transactions to prevent virtual coins from being used for money laundering and other illegal activities. The real-name trading system is also part of the government’s latest measures to curb speculative investment [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The cryptocurrency craze continues to sweep across South Korea despite the government’s hard-line stance, particularly thanks to young people who are hoping to turn their lives around with a get-rich-quick investment scheme. With over 1 million cryptocurrency trading accounts, the high level of public interest in virtual currencies in the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea is considering imposing taxes on virtual currency transactions as part of its efforts to curb excessively speculative investment in cryptocurrencies, the country’s top economic policymaker said Thursday. “We are reviewing (taxation) because (cryptocurrency) is seen to be taxable,” Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon told lawmakers. “We are looking at a variety of cases in other countries.”The finance minister also [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Six South Korean banks will begin issuing new trading accounts for cryptocurrencies next week by introducing a system that bans the use of anonymous accounts in cryptocurrency transactions, a senior financial regulator said Tuesday. When the banks introduce the system of verifying cryptocurrency investors’ identification next Tuesday, current virtual [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Opinions on cryptocurrency are completely polarized on social media among South Korean users, a new report has found. Mentions of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin by South Korean social media users are 49 percent positive and 51 percent negative, according to a report released by a preparatory committee for the Korea [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — With cryptocurrency valuations having plummeted since reaching record highs only weeks ago, online communities for investors have degenerated from optimism and high spirits to, evidenced by uploaded photos of cracked monitors and ruined doors, bitterness and destructive behavior. Whether the damage wrought in these photos was truly caused by [...]