Not a day passes in crypto land without an announcement from an exchange about a new listing. The decision to list an asset will have an immediate effect on its price as it becomes accessible to a greater number of investors.

Exchanges Should Have More Responsibility

With hundreds of new crypto tokens entering the markets, coinmarketcap.com currently lists 1944, it is becoming increasingly important to weed out the digital wheat from the chaff. Exchanges are playing a vital role in this process by being the arbiters of what gets listed on their trade platforms.

Lee Sir-goo, CEO of Dunamu, which operates one of South Korea’s top crypto exchanges, Upbit, spoke to the Korea Herald about screening worthwhile blockchain projects and tokens;

“Stock exchanges like the Kosdaq and Nasdaq all have strict guidelines to determine which company stocks they handle, to protect investors. The same goes for cryptocurrency exchanges. There are more than 20,000 crypto coins existing around the world today. It’s one way to list any coin as long as a listing fee is paid. But I believe the role of a crypto exchange is to screen for and pick out which is a good blockchain business and token, with aims to help users find the best investment opportunities,”

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Upbit’s inaugural developer’s conference on Jeju Island this week, Lee added that this was especially important for exchanges that support fiat to crypto trading. This would ensure more transparency in the trading process and prevent scams and money laundering.

Lee joined Upbit in January and has guided the exchange though a minefield of regulatory uncertainty as Korea constructs its framework for the crypto industry. The exchange has been embroiled in a probe into money laundering but was cleared by authorities in May.

He added that he recognized governmental concern over unregulated digital assets and the need to protect investors and added that the company would be investing 100 billion won ($US88 million) into the industry over the next three years. “Blockchain is still a new industry, and there are so many new players and products being released every day. We plan to continue investing in this sector, as investment is essential to helping the blockchain business ecosystem grow,” Lee commented.

Lee told reporters that they were not planning an ICO at the moment and that having their own coin would be a conflict of interest. Rival exchanges Binance and Huobi have done very well out of their own native tokens, initially launched to facilitate trading without having to go via BTC or ETH.

Image from Shutterstock