Bithumb and Coinone Narrowly Escape... Shinhan Also Issues Korbit Confirmation (Comprehensive)

NongHyup Bank Extends Real-Name Account Contracts with Bithumb and Coinone
Shinhan Bank Issues Verification Certificate for Kobit

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] NH Nonghyup Bank has decided to extend its contract for issuing real-name deposit and withdrawal accounts (real-name accounts) with Bithumb and Coinone, the second and third largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, Shinhan Bank has issued a real-name verification deposit and withdrawal account certificate to Korbit, the fourth largest cryptocurrency exchange, and plans to extend the contract in the future.

According to Nonghyup Bank on the 8th, the extension of the real-name verification contract with the two exchanges was reported to the Nonghyup Bank board of directors on the same day. The board had no objections, and the issuance was approved.

Accordingly, Nonghyup Bank plans to proceed with the re-contracting with the exchanges and issue the certificates on the same day.

Under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the Specified Financial Transaction Information Act, or Specified Act), cryptocurrency exchanges and related businesses must obtain Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification and secure real-name accounts from banks to report to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) by the 24th of this month. If not reported, coin-to-coin transactions can continue, but transactions involving Korean won will not be possible. If Korean won transactions become impossible on cryptocurrency exchanges, it will be difficult to cash out coins, which is expected to effectively lead to closure.

Meanwhile, Nonghyup Bank has requested Bithumb and Coinone to suspend coin transfers between exchanges before the 'Travel Rule' for anti-money laundering in cryptocurrency exchanges becomes mandatory in March next year. Although this measure has not been agreed upon, it is reported that an agreement on alternative measures has been reached.

Shinhan Bank also issued a real-name account verification certificate to Korbit on the same day. A Shinhan Bank official stated, "We issued a real-name verification deposit and withdrawal account certificate to Korbit today," and added, "The contract extension will be carried out later based on the contract extended until the 24th of this month."

Accordingly, following Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit are also expected to complete their reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Specified Financial Transaction Information Act.

However, the problem lies with small and medium-sized exchanges. Among these, exchanges that have obtained ISMS certification are reportedly negotiating with banks for real-name account issuance. However, 24 exchanges that have not applied for ISMS certification are expected to proceed with closure. Typically, it takes 3 to 6 months from application to obtaining ISMS certification, making it practically impossible to complete reporting within the remaining period.

Small and medium-sized exchanges plan to maintain coin trading only while suspending Korean won transactions and aim to obtain real-name accounts later. If Korean won transactions are suspended, they must notify investors of the related business closure by the 17th of this month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.