2 years ago
Conservative campaigner Yoon Suk-Yeol, a erstwhile apical authoritative who promised to deregulate the crypto industry, volition go South Korea’s adjacent president.
The predetermination was 1 of the closest successful South Korean history. Yoon bushed his opponent, Lee Jae-myung of the wide ruling party, by little than 1 percent constituent connected Wednesday, according to the AP.
Crypto was 1 of the hottest topics during the election. Both Yoon and Lee announced crypto-friendly stances successful an effort to triumph implicit younger voters.
Increasing levels of household indebtedness and stagnating salaries person pushed galore young Koreans to crook to the banal marketplace and crypto investing to get ahead, but the existent government under President Moon Jae-In has cracked down connected crypto. Strict regulatory changes saw astir 70 Korean exchanges shut down successful 2021, leaving lone a fistful operating.
Across South Korea’s apical 3 exchanges, determination are much than 5 cardinal idiosyncratic crypto accounts – representing astir 10% of the country’s population.
Unicorn hunting and reducing crypto taxes
During his campaign, Yoon promised to deregulate the crypto industry. At a crypto league successful January, Yoon said regulations “that are acold from world and unreasonable” indispensable beryllium overhauled successful bid to “realize the unlimited imaginable of the virtual plus market.”
Yoon expressed his tendency to pull and make crypto “unicorns” – startup businesses valued astatine $1 cardinal oregon more.
Yoon besides pledged to rise the projected threshold for superior gains taxes to footwear successful connected cryptocurrency profits to KRW 52.4 cardinal ($42,450). Starting successful 2023, a 20% taxation is to beryllium levied connected crypto gains supra KRW 2.5 cardinal ($2,024) made successful nether a year.
Yoon has besides promised to "take ineligible measures to confiscate crypto profits gained done illegitimate means and instrumentality them to the victims.”
Some of Korea’s biggest companies successful the amusement and gaming assemblage person indicated an involvement successful crypto, pledging to make non-fungible tokens (NFTs) oregon play-to-earn games astatine yearly shareholder meetings.
Lee, the runner up, focused his efforts connected courting those gaming companies. He acceptable up a gaming and metaverse task unit and promised to marque the state a crypto hub. Lee besides released his ain NFTs and said helium would judge run donations successful crypto.
Meanwhile, determination are astatine slightest 14 crypto-related bills presently circulating successful the South Korean parliament, and the deficiency of wide regularisation has frustrated galore successful the industry.
“Something has to hap aft the statesmanlike election,” Harold Kim, erstwhile manager of the Korea Blockchain Association, told CoinDesk successful February.
DISCLOSURE
The person successful quality and accusation connected cryptocurrency, integer assets and the aboriginal of money, CoinDesk is simply a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict acceptable of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an autarkic operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests successful cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As portion of their compensation, definite CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, whitethorn person vulnerability to DCG equity successful the signifier of stock appreciation rights, which vest implicit a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to acquisition banal outright successful DCG.
Cheyenne Ligon is simply a CoinDesk quality newsman with a absorption connected crypto regularisation and policy. She has nary important crypto holdings.
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