South Korea: Busan’s Plans for Digital Asset Exchange in Jeopardy
The city of Busan in South Korea is facing difficulties in launching its city-run digital asset exchange, according to a report on April 24. The project has been plagued with problems and has faced delays in its official launch. The initial plan was for Busan to become the world’s first city to launch a cryptocurrency exchange, but this depended on changes to government policy that have yet to be implemented. The ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs) in South Korea remains in place, causing uncertainty in the domestic crypto sector. Originally, Busan intended to create and sell the exchange to private sector firms. After abandoning plans to list traditional cryptocurrencies, the city announced that the exchange would focus on tokenized precious metals. However, a recent development has raised concerns about the project. The BDX Consortium, responsible for operating the exchange, failed to make a scheduled equity capital payment, breaking its promise to establish a corporation within 60 days of the agreement. Although Busan has not terminated the agreement yet, there is a likelihood of further delays if the consortium does not provide the required payment. Despite the challenges, Busan officials remain hopeful and expect the consortium to fulfill its financial obligations. The timeline for the exchange’s launch has already been revised due to late public offering processes.