South Korea appeared to soften its attitude toward cryptocurrencies this week, with one report suggesting that the government is looking at the possibility of a cryptocurrency exchange licensing system. The licensing system could be similar to that of New York’s “BitLicense” system, which provides firms handling virtual currencies a license to operate, according to the report.
South Korea is one of the biggest cryptocurrency markets in the world. Its government spooked investors last month after one minister said it was preparing a bill to ban trading via cryptocurrency exchanges.
A South Korean minister said Wednesday that that its “basic rule” was to prevent illegal activities associated with cryptocurrency trading, adding that a ban was just one of many options the government had been considering.
“FOMO (fear of missing out) is back in the markets,” Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro, told CNBC in a phone interview. “Crypto investors have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for a rally. Yesterday it was litecoin which had a clean break out from its resistance levels and investors jumped on and are still riding it today.”
Greenspan added: “There’s been a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) over the past few weeks. The FUD is fading now.”
