TL;DR Breakdown:
- The South Korean government has gained over $10 million from selling confiscated Bitcoin.
- These coins were worth about $238,000 in 2017.
The new South Korean cryptocurrency regulation, which came into effect on March 25, has allowed the government to auction confiscated cryptocurrency for the first time. The government bagged over $10 million from the sale, according to the announcement on Thursday by Arirang.
Meanwhile, Korea is not the only country that has sold seized cryptocurrencies. In recent months, many countries, including the United States, sold cryptocurrency seized by law enforcement agencies. Last year, the government of Ireland auctioned-off about 86 Bitcoin seized from a drug dealer, as Cryptopolitan reported.
South Korean gov’t bagged over $10 million
As reported, the Suwon District Prosecutors Office gained over $10.8 million by selling Bitcoin confiscated by the law enforcement agencies from a convicted criminal. The Bitcoin was sold to a cryptocurrency exchange after the new regulation became effective. All the proceeds were directed to the state coffers, according to the South Korean prosecutor.
The cryptocurrencies were seized back in 2017 from the now-convicted criminal, who was reportedly an operator of a pornography website. At the time, the Bitcoin seized were worth $238,000, combined. The South Korean government couldn’t take any action then because there wasn’t any legal instruction to follow regarding seized digital currencies.
Korea’s strict crypto regulation
The Korean government updated the nation’s cryptocurrency regulation under the Specific Financial Transactions Act. Among other things, the new law called for thorough anti-money laundering policies on exchanges operating in the country. The exchange also has to obtain the details of their users in the form of KYC or Know-Your-Customer. Virtual assets services providers in the nations are also obliged to operate under a license.
