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Recently OKEx lounged a notice for South Korean users using its platform. In the notice, OKEx talks about the increasing issues they are facing in South Korea. Due to which they are shutting down their south Korean platform. The announcement also states that all the users should remit their balances by 7th April. Otherwise, the company won’t be liable.
The company takes no responsibility for losses. OKEx also said that this would be solely the responsibility of the customers. This decision took place on Thursday. An OKEx representative
OKEx Logo (PRNewsfoto/OKEx)
mentions that it has become complicated for them to operate. This is due to the new law. The Korean government recently brought the new anti-money laundering law (AML). This law safeguards a business from fraudulent cryptocurrency deeds.
The company also mentions that their profits were not adding up to the compliance costs. Due to which the company decided to cut all losses and forfeit its operations in South Korea.
What were the changes?
The new act bought in multiple changes. Majorly in the financial sector to stringent crypto markets. As said by OKEx, the Korean government launched various strict laws. This was against crypto traders. AS per the new rule, the government will take 20% of the profit you make in crypto assets as tax. This amount is currently capped to KRW 2.5 Million, which adds up to around $ 2250.
Even though the government made the first 2.5 Million won tax-free. Major exchanges have seen a dip in their revenue. There was a recent interview of a Korean representative of OKEx. There he mentions that OKEx faced lots of problems while operating in South Korea. The company was not only losing clients, but it also faced governmental issues.
As per the new law, the government can now investigate any individual. That’s not, and now only people can only register with real-names. All these changes are to catch tax evaders. The government wants to oversee all the crypto operations. Due to which they are applying Stricker rules and regulations.
Other details
The government has also partnered with banks to keep an eye on crypto transactions. With the new law, the Korean government agencies can log to any transaction on their premises. They can also use this as a medium
to investigate. This falls under its financial reporting standards. This new law will fully come into power very soon.
Firms that are relatively new to this business now have a grace period for transacting in crypto. The officials allotted months as grace for jumping into crypto services. Even with so much going on, the trading volume of OKEx keeps on increasing. The company recorded around $1.3 Million trading revenue in 24 hours.
Were there more Drop-outs?
There are many big names who are tapping out of the Korean sub-continent. The most prominent name was the Binance Korean exchange. Binance is the largest crypto trader. The Korean Binance was in direct subsidiary with its parent company. This measure took place due to given circumstances.
While bitcoin continues its roller-coaster ride towards the top. It’s also gaining rapid popularity. On Friday, the overall existing bitcoin address created a new milestone. The number of active bitcoins addresses with bitcoin in them hid an all-time high of 36,896,000. All these addresses were non-zero bitcoin addresses making a huge milestone.
Soon after this happened, on Sunday, the numbers dropped back to 36,770,000. This report generated through a data analysis done by the Glassnode. The cause is assumed to be cryptocurrencies and blockchain demand. It is already becoming a mainstream investment platform for many. And with such monumental achievements, the crypto market is all set to hit new records. Speculators suggest that this bitcoin will also tear this milestone very shortly.
More insight
As per research conducted about how many bitcoin addresses have over 1000 bitcoins. The researchers found that there were more than 2300 addresses before December. The number dropped by
3.7% in December to around 2200. In January the number increased to about 2400. People with 1000+ bitcoins in their account are called “whales.” The average value of 1000 bitcoin was around $37.5 Million in that month. The increasing number of whales in the market also indicates bullish trends.
Does this Affect the Price?
Considering so much happening, does this affect the price of bitcoin in any way? Let’s find out. In 2018, in bitcoin’s last bull run, the total number of bitcoin addresses was around 28 Million. But as the price dropped to $6000 the number fell sharply to approximately 7 Million. This was only 25% of the previous figure.
But, after that, no research could find any relation between these two variables. Because the price kept fluctuating, but the number of addresses kept increasing. The number of active non-zero addresses increased rapidly. But the numbers boomed after BTC surged by 50% in MAR 2020.
What is different in both Scenarios?
Although both the markets were similar, as there were no fundamental differences. But, after this fall, bitcoin
was already becoming more than just a fancy currency. Due to its rising acceptance, BTC created value for itself. Soon after, multiple crypto ATMs were opening around the world. As per reports, since 2018, the number of such machines increased by 750%.
Soon after, companies like Microsoft and Tesla started accepting bitcoin. Companies like PayPal and Square are providing crypto services and payments.
After research, it was clear that bitcoin is no longer affected by the number of active addresses. So, the change in number will never have any substantial effect on this currency’s price. Since the crash of 2017-18. Bitcoin has steadily increased its financial sector footprint to an extensive level. With that, we can say that it is implausible to shake seeing a decreasing number of active users. What’s more, many experts say that bitcoin is yet to reach its full potential.
We all learn a school lesson that says, “We always pay for the crimes we do.” Coinbase is going through something very similar to that. A report by CoinDesk claims that Coinbase was heavily fined for trades they did a few years ago. The fined amount is close to $6.5 Millon, which for faking their trading statements to gain customers.
As per research, the allegation relates to internal trading between its divisions. This was to increase their overall trading volume. Where they made it look like people are trading in such volumes.
Case Settled without Disclosure
What’s even more surprising is that Coinbase also agreed to pay that fine without any disclosure. Which means they neither deny the claim nor accept it. People are speculating that they did so because of
their upcoming listing proposals. As per an article by Wall Street, Coinbase is looking to list itself over NASDAQ.
The platform has over 40 Million users along with 7000 institutional investors. It is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the market. Many governments have eyes on this matter. They are looking to understand the risks and opportunities involved in cryptocurrencies.
Details about the Crime?
Claims state that Coinbase was allegedly involved in many reckless and misleading trades. As per reports between Coinbase delivered fake reports between Jan 2015 & Sep 2018. The company started a new division called Coinbase Pro. Under which, they generated multiple orders to trade between both the divisions. Through this, they mislead numerous traders about their trading volume and generated customers.
The primary claim was for creating wash trades. Which were to manipulate their trade volumes. One of the former employees of Coinbase performed various wash trades. These were of Litecoin and BTC. All of this happened on their GDAX platform. And at that time, wash trades were already banned by the Government. Because they create false volume and fake trading revenue.
What did the CFTC Say About this?
Although
CFTC was sure, Coinbase did something to manipulate the system. They also made sure to clear doubts regarding customer safety. Also, they said that these wash trades harmed no Coinbase customers. They even confirmed that no such practices are happening at Coinbase after 2018. The official even said that such activities were due to recklessness. In a statement, the CFTC Commissioner asked the public to be optimistic about this. Dawn Stump said that, although the findings were factual, there is nothing we can do to regulate it. We only have the right to investigate where we feel necessary, said the commissioner of CFTC.
In February, Coinbase =registered and filled the legal documents to list on NASDAQ. The S-1 prospectus of Coinbase says that it has over 43 Million users. And the total assets in trusts are worth over $90 Billion. Since its incubation, it has completed transactions worth $456 Billion. Their reported profit for last year was $322 Million with a revenue of over $1.2 Billion.
The first blockchain technology came alongside bitcoin almost a decade ago. But if you look at its development, it’s practically unbelievable. Blockchain technology is arguably the best innovation of the 21st century. Most of the financial activities are slowly switching to blockchain-based databases. This is because they are secure and automated.
What are Blockchain Wallets?
A blockchain wallet is like a safe for storing your cryptocurrencies. Lately, there are many users
using blockchain wallets. They use it for keeping their private bitcoins and other crypto assets. But, as the demand for these wallets increases, so do the problems that users face. However, there are multiple uses of a blockchain wallet. Many users face severe issues while using them.
Common Issues faced by Blockchain Wallet Users
· Less Security:
Although some high-end encrypted wallets are the most secure ones. However, they are equally costly. Most of the users use generic wallets, which do not provide decent security. In case you are using a website to store your crypto assets. The complete website may get hacked. In that case, you are at risk of losing all your money.
· Fishing and Scam:
One of the most common issues faced by millions of users is fishing and stealing. Various people use phishing to lure you into their scams. They show fake promotions to get your details. They try to retrieve your login credentials. Then they can easily access your wallet. An excellent way to avoid this issue is by activating 2-factor authentication. Through which, every time someone logs-in to your account, they will need a 3rd random password.
· Only stores Crypto Coins:
Another significant issue people are facing is non-compatibility. Most of the wallets only support famous crypto coins like BTC and ETH. You won’t be able to store other assets. For example, you cannot store smart contracts in most wallets.
· Speculative and uncertain:
Many
People use wallets to store their crypto assets that do not support buying or selling of coins. In that case, you are always prone to the volatility of the market. The chances are that the prices may drop suddenly. In that case, you will not be able to in-cash your holdings.
· Issues with Passwords:
Recently a piece of news made headlines about one hardware wallet. A person with millions in holding forgot his wallet password. However, most of the wallets come with options to recover passwords. Some high-end hardware wallets do not support such options. Due to which it becomes a big problem for users to remember that exact password.
There are various problems faced by many users while using blockchain wallets. However, most of such issues have easy solutions as well. If you are thinking about using a blockchain wallet, you should give it a try. In case you face problems using it, you can always try a different service. There are thousands of blockchain wallet providers in the market.