Prepared and Disclosed Voluntary Regulation Measures
Experts Say "Won Currency and Coin Markets Must Be Integrated"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As calls for establishing a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency market have increased following the Terra and Luna incidents, cryptocurrency exchanges have come together to develop and disclose a self-regulation plan. However, the exchanges operating the Korean won market and those operating the coin market have each presented their own guidelines, and experts believe it would be preferable to unify these into a single framework.
According to industry sources on the 12th, five Korean won market exchanges?Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax?announced at a meeting hosted by the People Power Party's Digital Asset Special Committee held at the National Assembly the previous day that they plan to pilot the trading support review guidelines starting this month.
Following the Terra and Luna incidents, these five Korean won market exchanges launched the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) in June to establish self-regulation measures aimed at investor protection. They have divided operations into five sectors: trading support, market surveillance, compliance monitoring, education, and governance.
At the meeting, in addition to these five exchanges, 14 exchanges operating coin markets also announced jointly established self-regulation guidelines. They presented proposals divided into listing stages, types of management and disclosure, monitoring of unfair trading, and rules for delisting and virtual asset investment solicitation. While the five Korean won market exchanges outlined the general direction, the coin market exchanges’ draft was considered more detailed. The Korean won market exchanges disclosed goals and progress levels for key content across the five sectors of trading support, market surveillance, compliance monitoring, education, and governance, whereas the coin market exchanges prepared a draft consisting of 8 chapters and 41 articles.
Regarding the trading support sector, which attracts significant investor interest, the Korean won market exchanges only presented target schedules and progress for key items such as drafting the trading support review guidelines, finalizing the number and ratio of external experts participating, and piloting the trading support review guidelines. In contrast, the coin market exchanges established regulations for a virtual asset review committee that must include the listing support department, compliance monitoring department, technical department, and three external experts. They also prepared a listing procedure that includes first document review, additional documentation, convening the virtual asset review committee, and confirming listing followed by trading support.
The coin market exchanges have expressed their intention to accept in principle the self-regulation agreement announced by the five-exchange joint council and to finalize and implement joint guidelines tailored to their characteristics.
Experts argue that the coin market exchanges’ proposal is more detailed and that there is no need for separate self-regulation plans for the Korean won market and coin market exchanges, so they should be integrated. Professor Park Sun-young of Dongguk University’s Department of Economics emphasized, "Currently, the self-regulation organizations are divided between Korean won market exchanges and coin market exchanges, each creating different proposals, but there is absolutely no reason to prepare different guidelines."
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