TL;DR Breakdown
• South Korean authorities are planning to include cryptocurrency in the annual household finance survey.
• This could set the ground for possible taxation of digital assets in the country.
The National Statistical Office in South Korea revealed its intention to include digital assets in the annual finance survey beginning this year, meaning cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are now considered household assets.
The survey, which is jointly conducted with the central bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service, will support the government’s effort to introduce a policy to start taxing crypto profits from 2023. The tax plan will also attempt to police crypto trading within the country, which will allow regulators to protect investors.
South Korea to includes crypto in its financial report
South Korea has stood out for being one of the strictest countries for using cryptocurrencies, so much so a few months ago, it required exchanges to register in an integrated system to function. This time the country in Asia seeks to include cryptocurrencies in its financial reports, which is one more strategy to control them.
The National Statistical Office clarifies that cryptos are not considered “assets.” However, this vision towards them may change after planning the payment of taxes. The director of the national analysis ministry believes that cryptos could be taken as virtual funds after investigations.
This news from South Korea towards the cryptocurrency market is not new because they have discussed paying taxes in previous years. However, the central authority has not decided how to implement the tax system or when.
Regulation in the cryptocurrency market
Since crypto trading came to South Korea, regulators have tried to take it over through various laws that affect it. Unlike other countries in Asia or the world, Korea has succeeded in crypto regulations making it the leading anti-cryptos territory. However, these bans in South Korea have increased investor interest making the country one of the top crypto traders.
Perhaps one of the biggest regulations against crypto in the country was when in 2021, the central authority required exchanges to obtain a license. The regulators blocked trade with Zcash and Monero, being for the moment the most traded tokens in the country.
If the crypto tax law is approved, this could give South Korea more control in the market. But the regulator would ask investors to provide proof of their income in cryptocurrencies to know their real origin. This new crypto regulation seems to please South Korean investors because they could have more security in their finances.
While crypto trading hardens in Korea, other countries like Thailand try to give value to the market.
