Continuous Decline Amid Financial Authorities' Increased Pressure on Exchanges
Falling Over 20-30% in a Month
On the morning of the 15th, the Bitcoin price is displayed on a screen installed at Bithumb Gangnam Center, a domestic virtual asset exchange. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The government has begun to increase the level of supervision over cryptocurrency exchanges. As a result, exchanges feeling the pressure have been delisting a large number of coins, causing market turmoil and leading to a general slowdown in stocks related to cryptocurrency exchanges.
As of 11:19 AM on the 16th, Woori Technology Investment's stock price recorded 8,260 KRW, down 1.78% from the previous day. At the same time, Atinum Investment also fell 0.77% to 4,510 KRW. What these two have in common is that they hold shares in Dunamu, which operates Upbit, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Korea. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Woori Technology Investment and Atinum Investment hold 7.6% and 6.6% of Dunamu's shares, respectively.
Consistently grouped as Upbit-related stocks, they each reached all-time highs of 13,550 KRW and 7,480 KRW on April 7th when rumors of Dunamu's Nasdaq listing in the U.S. surfaced. However, recently, the representative cryptocurrency Bitcoin's price has plummeted, and financial authorities have begun weeding out cryptocurrency exchanges, causing a continuous decline. Over about a month from the 12th of last month to the day before, their stock prices fell by 26% (Woori Technology Investment) and 32% (Atinum Investment), respectively. Bident, considered a stock related to Bithumb, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in Korea, also struggled, falling about 13% during this period.
Earlier, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission began on-site consulting for cryptocurrency exchanges until the end of next month. Personnel dispatched from the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, and Ministry of Science and ICT will inspect key items such as the IT systems at exchanges for about a week. This follows the announcement of the 'Virtual Asset (Cryptocurrency) Transaction Management Plan' on the 28th of last month, marking the start of full-scale exchange management. According to the amended Special Financial Transactions Information Act (Special Act on Reporting and Using Certain Financial Transaction Information), which took effect in March, cryptocurrency exchanges must meet requirements such as ▲Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification ▲opening real-name verified deposit and withdrawal accounts, and must register as business operators with the FIU by September 24 to continue operations. In response, even Upbit suddenly designated 25 cryptocurrencies as watchlist items and excluded an additional 5 cryptocurrencies from the KRW market, announcing a 'bombshell notice' to strengthen management.
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