South Korea announces new cryptocurrency regulations

South Korea is one of the first countries to announce new regulations on cryptocurrenty, and as suspected, Bitcoin takes a ~12% plunge. I doubt this is the last country that will announce regulations and the Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies), could take a kicking as a result.

TechCrunch has the full story.

The South Korean government announced new legislation today that would put increasingly tough regulations on the country’s burgeoning cryptocurrency markets. Under the legislation, Korea, which is the third largest market for cryptocurrencies in the world after the U.S. and Japan, would ban anonymous accounts and continually monitor crypto exchanges.

Perhaps more ominously, the Wall Street Journal reported as well that the Ministry of Justice is considering unilaterally closing all crypto exchanges in the country, although didn’t provide any detailed guidance or timelines on when such a policy might be enacted.

The news slammed cryptocurrency prices. Bitcoin was hit about 12%, dropping from around $15,500 to eventually hitting a bottom of $13611, according to Coindesk. Ethereum was hit about 8% in the aftermath of the news.