Today, South Korea President Moon Jae-in’s executive office Blue House spokesperson Jeong Ki-joon announced in an official statement that the government change the original proposal by the Justice Ministry to ban cryptocurrency trading and introduce practical regulations to foster the cryptocurrency market. Furthermore, he added that the taskforce created to regulate cryptocurrency will improve in the effort to find the best solution.

Here is the original statement translated by ccn.com:

“First, the South Korean government will pursue the crackdown on anonymous cryptocurrency trading accounts and will punish market manipulation, money laundering, and fraudulent transactions through joint investigations participated by the local law enforcement and financial authorities.

Second, the cryptocurrency trading ban proposal introduced by Justice Minister Park Sang-ki was a suggestion made by the Justice Ministry on December 28 to bring speculation within the cryptocurrency market under control. The proposal will be discussed and changed by the task force participated by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, central bank, Fair Trade Commission, and other agencies.

Third, excessive speculation and fraudulent activities will be met with severe consequences. But, the government will support and even finance blockchain technology development.”

Despite the optimism that this announcement has generated between investors and exchanges, the policy coordination office renewed a warning about the risks associated with virtual currency trading.

“As virtual currency is not legal tender and no one guarantees its value, its prices can fluctuate by a large margin … and cause big losses,” the office said. “Therefore, virtual currency mining, investment and trading should be done prudently under one’s own responsibility.” Source yonhapnews.co.kr

The office continued to push for real-name transactions and other anti-speculation measures, and to proceed harshly with illegals involving cryptocurrency trading, such as price rigging, money laundering and tax evasion.

The government will make a decision about taking hard measures if the market continues “being overheated, in spite of a series of financial measures” to curb speculative investment in virtual coins, the presidential official said.

According to yonhanews.co.kr, local banks said they would prepare for a real-name system for virtual bank accounts used in cryptocurrency trading.

The system would allow only real-name bank accounts and matching accounts at cryptocurrency exchanges to be used for deposits and withdrawals.

Shinhan Bank and NH Bank will continue to offer virtual accounts for cryptocurrency trading in line with financial authorities’ guidelines. KB Kookmin Bank, which does not offer virtual accounts to cryptocurrency exchanges, said it will introduce a real-name system for virtual accounts, but no decision has been made on whether it would offer such accounts to cryptocurrency exchanges.