South Korean Financial Services Regulatory Authority: Seeking solutions for competition in deposit interest rates among cryptocurrency exchanges

According to Newsis, regarding the deposit interest rate competition between local cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bithumb after the implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act in South Korea, Lee Bok hyun, Director of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea, said, "We are currently understanding the industry situation and discussing how to solve the related issues of Bithumb and others under investigation in a market independent manner." Kim Byoung hwan, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, also said, "Due to price issues, caution is needed in direct regulation, but we will strive to find solutions The competition for deposit interest rates began on July 19th, when Upbit announced a 1.3% interest rate. In response, Bithumb introduced a 2.0% interest rate, which prompted Upbit to raise its interest rate to 2.1%. Bithumb further raised the interest rate to 2.2%. With Korbit joining the competition with a 2.5% interest rate, Bithumb has once again pushed its interest rate up to 4.0%. However, after FSS intervention, Bithumb withdrew its 4.0% interest rate.