FSC gets tough on accounts used for cryptocurrency

Korea’s financial regulator said Wednesday it will bolster oversight of bank accounts used for cryptocurrency transactions, in its latest effort to prevent cryptocurrencies from being exploited for money laundering.

In a statement, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it will step up its monitoring of money transfers between local and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges.

The new guidelines, which aim to prevent local cryptocurrency exchanges from buying virtual coins at foreign exchanges to launder money, will come into force on July 10 for one year, the FSC said.

Financial authorities plan to keep tabs on bank accounts used by cryptocurrency exchanges for parking expenses, the FSC said. Korea began a real-name trading system for cryptocurrencies on Jan. 30, which banned use of anonymous bank accounts for transactions to prevent virtual coins being used for money laundering and other illegal activities.

Yonhap