Bithumb bitcoins bag says "correct" regulation in South Korea will boost market

© Reuters. Tokens de Bitcoin são vistos em foto ilustrativa

The world's busiest virtual coin purse operator, South Korea's Bithumb, said on Tuesday it would comply with whatever rules the Seoul government might impose and that it would adequately capitalize on protecting its customers.
BTC Korea.Com also told Reuters it would "actively cooperate to build a certain set of rules," which could include steps such as proper identification of its customers by real names.
"The correct set of rules will encourage the market (of virtual currencies), and we like that," he told Bithumb in an e-mail answering questions from Reuters, adding that such a code of conduct could add legitimacy to the market.
Currently, anyone who has a cell phone in their own name and a bank account can sign up and negotiate via Bithumb.
The comments came a day after bitcoin hit a record high of $ 17,270 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, despite questions about the cryptomede's real value and worries about a dangerous bubble.
Although it was the world's largest trader of virtual currencies in November by turnover and South Korea is among the world's largest bitcoins markets, BTC Korea.Com has maintained a discreet stance since the launch of Bithumb in 2014 and just recently available information about it.
Attracted by the explosive valuation of bitcoin more than 15 times this year, ordinary South Koreans - from housewives to university students and government officials - rushed to applications for virtual currency exchange scholarships such as Bithumb, hoping to make a quick profit despite government warnings.
After bitcoin prices rose 21 percent in a week last month, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon said it was time for the government to act, as "a serious pathological phenomenon" could happen if there was no control .
The Finance Minister said on Monday that ministers are talking to decide whether these deals can be regulated, while the head of the financial regulator said some Justice Ministry officials are calling for a ban on the trading of crypto coins, though nothing has been still decided in terms of market regulation.
Headquartered in the Gangnam district of Seoul, BTC Korea.Com has revealed little about its Bithumb trading platform or its founder, Kim Dae-shik.
Asked if imminent regulation would restrict the virtual currency boom, the company said that "the trend is irreversible and" we see the flow of money flowing from stock markets into the virtual currency market. "
South Korea accounted for 15 percent of global bitcoin trades in the past 24 hours on stock exchanges that charge fees, according to Coinmarketcap.com. This is well above the size of its economy of about 2 percent of global production.
In a few days, the daily volume of bitcoins surpassed the Kosdaq stock index of small-caps, which has a market value of 271 trillion won ($ 248.6 billion), according to the government.
Given that most South Korean casinos are only for foreign visitors, a repressed appetite for gambling probably played a role in the bitcoin craze, says Park Nok-sun, a crypto-currency analyst at NH Investment & Securities.
"The fact that anyone can start trading with little money and the lack of volatile betting places has helped the market turn around in Korea," said Park.