The government and politicians are taking steps to prepare countermeasures in response to the collapse of the Korean cryptocurrency Luna and Terra USD and the massive loss of investors. It is known that there are more than 5 million domestic investors investing in virtual currency, but there is no relevant law yet, so the government cannot actively intervene in the market or take measures to protect investors.
According to politicians on the 20th, the People’s Power Policy Committee and the Virtual Assets Special Committee will hold a party meeting on the 24th to discuss measures to protect investors in the virtual currency market. The plan is to convene not only government officials, but also representatives of major virtual asset exchanges, so that the exchange will establish its own investor protection measures even before the Digital Asset Framework Act is enacted.
“Fair and transparent listing, establishment of a self-regulatory system for unfair practices, market monitoring and analysis, delisting with predictable and investor damage prevention measures, establishment of a compensation system for connection failure, safety management of customer deposits, etc.” “The task of protecting market investors is plentiful,” he emphasized.
At the meeting, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) announces the results of the virtual asset exchange inspection, starting with the Financial Services Commission’s report on the preparation of the Digital Asset Framework Act. The Financial Supervisory Service plans to report the coin market risk management plan, the Fair Trade Commission plans to report consumer protection and market monopoly measures on coin exchanges, and the National Police Agency and the prosecution plan to report the status of criminal investigations related to virtual assets, respectively.
From the ruling party, policy committee chairperson Seong Il-jong, political affairs committee chairperson Jae-ok Yoon, political affairs committee secretary Kim Hee-gon, chairperson Yoon, and officials of the standing committee and special committee will attend.
In the government, Vice Chairman Kim So-young of the Financial Services Commission, as well as directors-level executives from related institutions such as the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Police Agency, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Fair Trade Commission will attend. On the 23rd, an emergency seminar will be held to discuss the causes and countermeasures of the Luna-Tera incident jointly hosted by the People’s Power Policy Committee and the Virtual Assets Special Committee.
The market confusion surrounding Luna is still ‘currently ongoing’. In Bithumb on the 20th, a so-called ‘closed-up beam’ phenomenon occurred in which the price suddenly surged ahead of the delisting of Luna scheduled for the 27th. From 8:49 am on the same day, the price of Luna on Bithumb increased by nearly 80% in about 30 minutes. It seems that an abnormal price phenomenon has occurred in a situation where Bithumb blocked deposits and withdrawals to Luna, and the quantity was isolated. Due to the price increase, the trading volume also recorded 21.03 million units as of the 20th, more than three times higher than the previous day’s 6.8 million units. On Upbit, Luna was delisted at noon on the same day. Gopax has already been delisted on the 16th, and Coinone and Korbit have not yet decided to delist.
Meanwhile, as the price instability of stablecoins grows, major exchanges are issuing investor advisories one after another. Following Upbit’s announcement on the 18th, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit also issued investor advisories on stablecoins on the 19th. Exchanges have warned that algorithmic stablecoins may experience sharp fluctuations in the value of collateral or if the algorithm does not operate properly. The stablecoin-related assets traded on each exchange include △Upbit 13 types, Bithumb 10 types, △Coinone 7 types, and Korbit 6 types.
This notice is a follow-up to Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom, who said he would look into ways to guide investment precautions through the exchange.
[김혜순 기자 / 최근도 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
