[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] On the 26th, Ko Seung-beom, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, ordered a comprehensive inspection of unregistered virtual asset exchanges to minimize user damages following the deadline for virtual asset service providers to register under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the Specified Financial Transaction Information Act, or Specified Act).
On the same day, Chairman Ko held a joint "Virtual Asset Service Provider Registration Status Inspection Meeting" with the Financial Supervisory Service and instructed a thorough inspection of unregistered exchanges to ensure the smooth return of customer deposits and virtual assets, as well as to crack down on illegal activities such as embezzlement and planned bankruptcy.
The financial authorities plan to strictly crack down on illegal operations without registration by checking whether service providers have complied with business closure requirements. They will continuously monitor whether operators who have ceased business return customers' Korean won deposits and virtual assets without issues, and if necessary, take supervisory measures or notify investigative agencies.
So far, 42 companies have completed registration as virtual asset service providers. Among them, 29 companies registered as virtual asset trading operators have obtained Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification. Of the 37 companies that did not acquire ISMS certification, 36 have ceased operations except for one new non-operating business.
However, the financial authorities predict that the scale of damages caused by unregistered exchanges will not be significant. This is because the market share of the 29 registered virtual asset trading operators, based on daily transaction volume as of the 21st of this month, is about 99.9%. In contrast, the market share of unregistered operators is less than 0.1%.
In particular, among unregistered exchanges, the balance of Korean won deposits held by operators who applied for ISMS certification but failed to obtain it and subsequently ceased operations is only about 4.18 billion won. Since the financial authorities have recommended that these deposits be returned to customers over a minimum period of 30 days, investor damages are expected to decrease further.
The Financial Services Commission explained, "Operators who have ceased business have done so sequentially following the government's management plan announcement in May," adding, "Especially, orderly business closures have been carried out according to the government's guidance on business liquidation, so user damages and market confusion caused by the closure of virtual asset trading operators are assessed to be limited."
Meanwhile, the Financial Services Commission analyzed that the virtual asset market, which showed an overheated state from the end of last year through the first half of this year, has recently entered a stabilization trend. The average daily transaction amount of four operators with real-name accounts decreased from about 22 trillion won in April, according to CoinMarketCap, to about 8.7 trillion won this month.
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