South Korean-based crypto exchanges have started to apply for Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification.
It is the first Financial Services Commission requirement that local cryptocurrency exchanges need to have for them to be eligible to operate after September 24 of this year.
This requirement became mandatory since the “Crypto Exchange Law” or more formally known as “The Act on Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information” law was passed by the government.
Strict requirements ahead
The authority for ISMS certification is the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). This agency is tasked by the government to verify if the crypto exchange applicants have followed the standards of information protection.
KISA announced that, so far, it had approved the applications of 20 crypto exchange firms. Thirty other companies are on the “waiting line” and their applications are currently processed by the agency.
The second step after acquiring the ISMS certificate is to secure contracts from domestic banks. The purpose of this step is to verify the platform users’ real-name bank accounts which would be used for withdrawal and deposit transactions.
This is to make sure that crypto transactions’ anonymity wouldn’t be used for illegal activities and to mitigate other cybercrimes that could arise.
Crypto exchanges closing down
Even with the successful implementation of the Crypto Exchange Law, the South Korean government has missed verifying the exact number of crypto exchanges operating in the country.
This would have provided accurate data on how many crypto exchange companies have exactly closed since the law was enforced.
But it is certain that many companies were directly affected since many of them have suddenly implemented service suspensions.
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