A group of 20 South Korean crypto exchanges have allayed fears that the country’s new digital asset rules would result in them delisting a mass of tokens at once.
The exchanges will review a total of 1,333 cryptocurrencies over the next six months as part of the new crypto user protection laws, meaning “the possibility of mass delisting occurring all at once is unlikely,” the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) said in a July 2 statement.
South Korea’s exchanges, including the country’s largest Bithumb and Upbit, must review the cryptocurrencies listed on their platforms as part of the nation's new investor protection laws that come into force on July 19.
DAXA said all new token listings will be assessed against the Protection of Virtual Asset Users Act following the introduction of the new rules.
The industry body said it created a best practices guideline in conjunction with the 20 exchanges on how they should review and terminate support for cryptocurrencies.
The guidelines outline how to assess token issuers for reliability, user protection, and regulatory compliance.
A more relaxed “alternative screening plan” will apply to cryptocurrencies that have traded for over two years in “eligible overseas virtual asset markets with sufficient regulation,” DAXA said.
It added research and consultation with exchanges is taking place to create a specific list of eligible overseas markets but will include those on the board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
South Korea is a major player in global crypto markets. Its currency, the won, was the most traded fiat currency pair in the first quarter of th year — seeing $456 billion in volume on exchanges, edging the $455 billion in U.S. dollar volume.
Upbit is the largest exchange in the country and currently sits in the top 20 exchanges by daily volume, with $889.3 million traded on its platform in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.