South Korea officially establishes Crypto Asset Monitoring Bureau to further strengthen the supervision of virtual assets

On August 26, after the nominee for the chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea said on Wednesday that he did not consider cryptocurrencies to be financial assets, the FSC announced on Thursday that it would set up an independent agency, the Crypto Asset Monitoring Bureau, to further strengthen the supervision of virtual assets and service providers and closely monitor possible money laundering risks.

The FSC said in a statement that the newly established department will be managed by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KFIU), which is responsible for anti-money laundering under the FSC.

The Crypto Assets Control Bureau will monitor all suspicious crypto asset financial activities, decide on the license extension of cryptocurrency service providers, and explore how to strengthen investor protection rules. In addition, a policy management planning department will be established under the Crypto Assets Control Bureau, and the director will report directly to the director of the KFIU.