South Korea’s Financial Regulator To Dedicate a Department Primarily to Cryptocurrency & Blockchain

South Korea’s financial regulator will establish a department exclusively for policymaking initiatives in the nation’s blockchain industry, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said.

As a part of its restructure plan to lead financial innovation in the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution era, the FSC has decided to establish the so-called Financial Innovation Bureau. The decision was made during the top financial regulator’s cabinet meeting with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

An FSC official was cited as saying:

“The new Financial Innovation Bureau will … be tasked with policy initiatives for financial innovation, such as innovating financial services using fintech or big data, and responses to new developments and challenges such as cryptocurrencies.”

While the new body will see a temporary life-span of two years, it will markedly cover South Korea’s existing cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem, the FSB confirmed.

Pointedly, the new body will look to adopt the financial regulator’s recent positive outlook toward the sector wherein domestic cryptocurrency exchanges could soon be faced with guidelines similar to commercial financial institutions as lawmakers seek to fast-track bills regulating the sector.

The regulatory shake up has been welcomed by cryptocurrency watchers, with an official from the South Korea-based Fantom Foundation telling the Korea Times:

“Virtual coin and related blockchain technologies will come to our everyday life sooner or later. I think Korea can be an ideal incubator to test drive new virtual coins and their blockchain systems. Now it is the government’s role to establish a favorable environment for virtual coins and their blockchains.”

Notably, South Korea outlawed initial coin offerings last year. However, in May, the nation’s legislative arm of government pushed for the removal of the ban, officially proposing legislation to permit ICOs as long as investor protections are put in place.

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