SEOUL: South Korea on Wednesday banned its financial institutions from dealing in virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, as the cryptocurrency soars in a bubble fuelled by retail speculators, many of them from the country. The Prime Minister’s Office said Seoul would ban financial institutions from dealing in virtual currencies – including buying, possessing, or holding them as collateral. Prices on Bithumb, South Korea’s biggest Bitcoin exchange, fell nearly five percent after the announcement. But the measures fell short of speculation that authorities might ban Bitcoin trading in South Korea altogether, or tax profits from it. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission in September ordered a ban on ICOs, declaring “cryptocurrencies are neither money nor currency nor financial products.” — AFP

Source: New Strait Times December 13, 2017 09:22 UTC