An association of South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges said Wednesday it will carry out evaluations of its members to see if they followed a set of self-regulatory measures announced earlier.

The Korean Blockchain Industry Association composed of 33 cryptocurrency exchanges said 21 of its members, including major players Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone, will undergo evaluations.

The decision comes after the association announced in December that it had adopted a raft of measures to improve transparency in trading and to keep the unregulated market in check amid worries over a bitcoin frenzy.

The association also established a set of specific ethical codes for the virtual currency bourses, including strict rules on insider trading and market manipulation.

The association announced the measures after the Seoul government proposed tough regulations.

South Korea is home to one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, with about 2 million people estimated to possess some of the best-known digital currencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum.

The government estimates that sales by local cryptocurrency exchange operators soared more than 80-fold in 2017 compared with a year earlier.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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