PANews reported on December 16 that the chairman of the Korea Exchange (KRX), Jung Eun-pyo, stated that South Korea should quickly incorporate cryptocurrency into its financial system to overcome regulatory barriers and maintain international competitiveness. He pointed out that since Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, the daily trading volume of the South Korean cryptocurrency market has exceeded 200 trillion won (approximately 14 billion dollars) compared to the domestic stock market.
Jung Eun-pyo emphasized at the recent World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) summit that ignoring the virtual currency market will affect the profitability of exchanges. He also criticized the current attitude of viewing virtual currencies as speculative assets, warning that this could lead to South Korea falling behind in international competition. Despite the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency market in South Korea, currently, no cryptocurrency companies are listed on KRX, and businesses cannot purchase cryptocurrencies with their balance sheets, while regulators have yet to approve the launch of a Bitcoin spot ETF. He urged South Korea to seize the opportunity to institutionalize the cryptocurrency market to create new value and enhance international competitiveness.
