South Korea Bans Privacy Coins Like Monero and Dash

From March 2021, privacy coins like Monero, ZEC, and Dash won’t be allowed in South Korea. A report on Nov 18 explains this as an anti-money laundering and tax evasion effort by authorities. It is part of an assault on privacy-enhancing platforms used in money transfer according to the country’s regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Details: 

Bitcoin is pseudonymous, meaning while transactions are transparent, they can be traced back to the sender and receiver. The amount is also known. On the other hand, privacy coins employ extra techniques to protect the sender, the receiver, and the amount. It, therefore, explains why the coin is popular among cybercrime syndicates and money launderers according to law enforcers. Regardless, developers are still enhancing their obfuscating techniques, making the network lighter, scalable, and more secure. 

Impact on the XMR Price: 

Bearish. South Korea joins several countries by banning the use of privacy coins. While Monero works on on-chain swapping techniques, the coin’s liquidity will be impacted in the medium term before alternatives are found.

More market updates on our Blog