Yoon Suk-Yeol wins the South Korean presidential elections with the smallest of margins (0.8%). Nonetheless, both South Korean candidates had one thing in common. During their respective campaigns, they both had a pro-crypto stance.
Despite being political opponents from different camps. Consequently, both politicians used their own NFTs. Therefore, in this article, you will discover how South Korea is Crypto-Friendly and the impact that will have on mass adoption.
South Korea About to Adapt Crypto-Friendly Laws
The current president, Moon Jae-In, was not so crypto-friendly. His government cracked down on crypto. As a result, almost 70 crypto exchanges closed their doors in 2021.
Both, Yoon and Lee, realized that they needed young voters if they wanted to win the elections. This voter group is pro-crypto. So, thanks to hard economical times, they took interest in stock and crypto markets.
JUST IN: #Bitcoin and #crypto friendly politician Yoon Suk-yeol was elected the next President of South Korea 🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/mKyaWtDLKG
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 9, 2022
Nonetheless, the top 3 Korean CEXs share 5 million accounts among them. That is more or less 10% of the Korean population. As a result, Yoon and Lee had their work cut out for them. Crypto was spearheading their campaigns.
South Korean Crypto Regulation in the Making
Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) came with some interesting promises. He pledged to several crypto-friendly changes. Among others, he plans to:
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- Deregulate the current South Korean crypto market.
- Engage and support crypto unicorns. These are startups valued at $1 billion or more.
- Ease the tax burden on crypto profits. Currently, 20% at KRW 2.5 million or $2,050.-, Yoon wants to raise this to 50 million won or $42,450.
- Take legal action against crypto frauds.
According to the announcement, Yoon mentioned that current laws are not in favor of crypto. According to him, Korea “must overhaul regulations that are far from reality and unreasonable”. Furthermore, they need “to realize the unlimited potential of the virtual asset market”.
On the other hand, Lee also had some interesting promises. However, he was more looking into working with big Korean companies in the gaming industry. These want to move into the P2E sector and work with NFTs. Therefore, he planned to make Korea a worldwide crypto hub. In addition, he set up a task force, concentrating on the metaverse and gaming.
The current lack of clear crypto regulation in Korea frustrates many. South Korean parliament can’t seem to make up their minds. Currently, no less than 14 bills related to crypto circulate among them. The Korean crypto industry is a strong force in the world, and they prefer to have clear laws.
Top 3 Crypto Startups in South Korea
South Korea is home to many well-known crypto projects. ICON and the popular layer 1 blockchain Terra with its LUNA token are among them. Here is a brief description of these three crypto projects created on South Korea:
1) ICON
The Korean ICON (ICX) protocol is an interoperable blockchain that enables smart contracts. Their native ICX token powers the ICON network. Among others, they support their own DEX. In addition, they connect communities with each other. For this, they use the ICON Republic. As a result, they cater to a variety of businesses.
After Yoon’s election victory, the ICX token surged 42% and the price went over $1, almost touching $1.10. All this within a time frame of just 12 hours.
icx is back to top100 in cmc ranks 🔥
Crypto friendly regulations is coming in South Korea thanks to Yoon 🔥#icx $icx pic.twitter.com/2orNiIfqs6— Jaba The Interoperable 🌐 ⚖️ 🤖 🦊 ❄️ 🧊 👑 (@nikos5800) March 10, 2022
2) Terra LUNA
The LUNA token saw already an incredible run over the last two weeks. Even reaching a new ATH yesterday of $103.88 after the presidential election results. LUNA has been taking off since the outbreak of the Russian – Ukrainian conflict. Moreover, it is one of the very few tokens that showed constant green candles during this period.
3) CHAI Payment System
As a result of the elections, Terra’s CHAI mobile payment system will get a boost as well. Launched in 2019, CHAI is a payment system using blockchain technology. However, the beauty of this system is that users don’t even realize that. On the other hand, merchants only pay around 0.5% instead of the typical 2-3% of traditional payment options.
Conclusion
South Korea is Crypto-Friendly now thanks to the newly elected president that will open the way for a bigger crypto adaptation. The crypto industry can expect crypto-friendly regulation. In turn, this may put South Korea as a crypto hub on the worldwide map.
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