In Line with Virtual Asset Act Enforcement... Virtual Asset Exchanges' Self-Regulation Overhaul

Establishing Best Practices... Strengthening Listing Support Review
Reflecting Recent Incident Cases Such as Wallet Information and Source Code Verification
Enhancing User Protection Measures Including Preparation of Korean White Paper

On the 2nd, the Digital Asset Exchange Joint Council (DAXA·Daksa) announced that it has revised the self-regulation with 20 domestic virtual asset exchanges ahead of the enforcement of the "Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, etc. (Virtual Asset Act)" scheduled for the 19th.

This self-regulation, prepared under the name "Best Practices for Supporting Virtual Asset Transactions" by supplementing the existing "Common Guidelines for Transaction Support Review," will be commonly applied at each exchange starting from the 19th.

According to Daksa, the new self-regulation requires each exchange to review both formal and qualitative requirements when supporting new virtual assets for transactions, and to conduct quarterly listing maintenance reviews for already listed virtual assets.

During the review, it is required to verify whether the issuer is trustworthy, whether user protection measures are in place, whether there are any technical or security risks, and whether there are any legal conflicts. However, for virtual assets whose issuers are difficult to identify, some review requirements may be relaxed if they have been traded for more than two years in qualified overseas virtual asset markets.

Reflecting recent accident cases in the domestic virtual asset market during the review process, wallet information that can monitor transactions of issuers, token smart contract source codes, and other items must also be checked.

The self-regulation also requires each exchange to establish an independent transaction support review and resolution body responsible for decisions such as designating cautionary trading items and terminating transaction support. Additionally, essential information necessary for users, such as virtual asset explanatory documents, must be disclosed before the start of trading and inspected once per quarter.

The best practices include minimum standards that exchanges must jointly comply with, and Daksa explained that each exchange can independently establish and operate additional standards.

A Daksa official stated, "We plan to incorporate the contents of the best practices and additional standards into the internal regulations of each exchange and continuously consult with financial authorities to ensure effective implementation."