The financial regulator in South Korea is investigating its staff involved in cryptocurrency insider trading.
Last week, the South Korean government announced that it is preparing a legislation to ban all cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. Justice Minister Park Sang-ki explained that the government’s move was due to “great concerns regarding virtual currencies.”
In addition, South Korea’s Office for Government Policy Coordination said the shutdown of cryptocurrency exchanges was one of the proposals of the Justice Ministry to “curb speculation.”
The announcement from South Korean regulators contributed in the massive sell-off of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, ethereum, and ripple this week.
According to Korea Herald, an employee of the country’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) sold his cryptocurrency holdings before the announcement. The employee is working at the Policy Coordination Office, which was responsible for preparing measures for the cryptocurrency market. He invested 13 million won in cryptocurrencies on July 3 and sold it for around 20 million won on December 11.
