200,000 people petitioned! South Korea's plan to ban virtual currency trading was strongly opposed by cryptocurrency speculators

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As the world's third largest Bitcoin trading market, South Korea's plan to ban virtual currency transactions has been strongly opposed by the public.

According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly 200,000 South Koreans signed a petition on the presidential office's official website on Monday night, opposing the ban on virtual currency transactions. Once the number of signatures reaches 200,000, the South Korean government will be forced to respond and may launch an investigation. The petition was launched on December 28 last year and the required signatures must be collected before January 27.

The petition states that Koreans are not stupid and that people invest in cryptocurrencies because they see them as excellent investments for the future. The petition calls on government officials not to make policy judgments because some investors have suffered heavy losses or engaged in illegal activities.

South Korea strengthens regulation of virtual currencies

South Korean regulators have stepped up their oversight of virtual currencies and issued tough rhetoric in recent weeks.

On January 8, the South Korean government issued its strongest statement yet on the risks of bitcoin trading, warning citizens to remain vigilant.

On January 11, South Korean Justice Minister Park Sang-ki issued a strong warning at a press conference about the signs of speculation and overheating in the domestic virtual currency market. He pointed out that domestic virtual currency transactions are gambling activities and the Ministry of Justice is preparing a bill to ban virtual currency transactions through exchanges.

As soon as the news of "closing the exchange" came out, the prices of various digital currencies plunged. However, the spokesperson of the South Korean presidential office later changed the position in the statement, saying that closing the virtual currency exchange was only "a possible measure" and did not represent a "final" decision.

In addition, South Korean tax service officials raided the offices of Coinone, one of South Korea's largest bitcoin exchanges, last week and demanded that the exchange disclose documents and cryptocurrency trading information.

Bitcoin trading volume ranks third in the world

South Koreans are very enthusiastic about investing in virtual currencies. Currently, South Korea's Bitcoin trading volume ranks third in the world, second only to Japan and the United States.

Data from research website CryptoCompare shows that in the past year, about 4.5% of all global Bitcoin transactions were conducted in Korean won, making the won the fourth most widely used currency for Bitcoin transactions, second only to the US dollar, yen and euro.

As trading volume grows, South Korea's bitcoin has long been at a premium. As of press time, the price of bitcoin on South Korea's Coinone platform is about $17,000, which is nearly 32% higher than the $12,900 quoted by mainstream exchanges around the world.