South Korea’s ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs) has not stopped the appearance of new digital coins on local exchanges.
Instead, South Korean startups are domiciling their ICOs abroad, then listing their digital coins on South Korean exchanges.
The nation frustrated cryptocurrency volumes when it banned ICO listings in the country, where the Bitcoin price trades at a larger premium versus other markets.
But things are changing for ICO issuers: ICON (ICX) is a new coin developed by Seoul-based fintech DAYLI Financial Group but issued in Switzerland. The ICON Foundation is registered in Switzerland but operates out of Korea. Bithumb and Upbit, South Korea’s top two cryptocurrency exchanges where the new coin has been listed, support ICON for trading.
This is significant because it’s the country’s first platform coin developed on code that can also support other applications.
ICON is only one of approximately 12 companies to have similarly bypassed the ban, launched ICOs overseas, and listed its coins on Korean exchanges.
Reuters reported that, while South Korean regulators want South Korean startups to be transparent about their international deals, they also don’t plan to stand in the way.
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