Binance’s South Korean adventure a sign of country’s growing crypto-significance

One of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange platforms, Binance has announced its foray into the South Korean cryptocurrency market via the launch of Binance KR, a crypto-to-crypto exchange for Korean users. According to an announcement by the exchange, Binance KR is set to launch in the next few days.

This platform is being touted as the “the first global use case” of the Binance Cloud solution that was rolled out last month. Binance Cloud is essentially a platform that allows users to launch their own cryptocurrency exchange.

Following the development, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said,

“We are pleased to provide a digital asset platform for users in Korea to bring the trading depth, security and transaction speed of Binance.com to Binance KR. Our decision to list BKRW trading pairs will allow us to seamlessly connect crypto to the South Korean won in order to expand our local services.”

According to the official press release, Binance KR leverages the core functionalities of its parent firm, such as the market’s deepest spot trading liquidity, robust matching engine, and advanced state-of-the-art security, custody, and risk controls. Additionally, Binance’s Korean platform is also supporting a BEP-2 stablecoin backed by South Korean Won [KRW], the Binance KRW [BKRW].

South Korean crypto scene

Binance’s latest announcement is a crucial one since it comes on the heels of the South Korean National Assembly passing new legislation in a bid to provide a framework for the regulation and legalization of cryptocurrencies and crypto-exchanges in the country.

While this legislation is still awaiting President Moon Jae-in’s signature, this development was monumental primarily because it added a whole new level of legitimacy to the country’s cryptocurrency space after the rumored ban that made the rounds in 2017.

The said legislation is essentially an amendment to the already existing Financial Information Act, according to which, crypto-entities will need to be in full compliance by September 2021. To combat illicit trading activity, this legislation also ensured the implementation of stricter AML and counter-terrorism financing [CFT] framework by crypto-asset service providers, failing to do which would risk being shut down.

The passing of this amendment comes after a two-year deliberation period of extensive trial and error of previously issued recommendations. The same also found support from various organizations such as the Korea Blockchain Association and FSC Chairman Sungsoo Eun, among others in the sector.

This development seems to have emboldened many global players to participate more fully and wholly in crypto-services. For instance, just a few days ago, it was reported that South Korea’s biggest commercial bank, KB Kookmin, is in between plans to launch cryptos-custody services for coins like Bitcoin and Ether.

Kakao, which happens to be one of South Korea’s largest tech firms, has also been investing in blockchain initiatives, along with other crypto companies.