South Korea’s prime minister is worried that the rising interest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin could lead the country’s youth getting involved in drug dealing and pyramid schemes.
South Korean prime minister Lee Nak-yon reportedly discussed the growing embrace of cryptocurrencies by younger generations at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The “raging” cryptocurrency market, according to the politician, is proving to be an easy lure for students who are jumping at the opportunity for making gains with some taking an illegal path.
A statement posted after the cabinet meeting reveals the prime minister calling for government agencies to look into such concerns.
As per a translation by CNBC, the South Korean leader said:
There are cases in which young Koreans including students are jumping in to make quick money and virtual currencies are used in illegal activities like drug dealing or multi-level marketing for frauds.
The politician further claimed that trading volumes on South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchanges surpassing that of the small-ccap Kosdaq Index.
Dramatically, he added:
If we let things continue, I feel some serious pathological phenomenons could occur.
South Korea has emerged among the world’s leading bitcoin trading markets this year and an insatiable appetite for cryptocurrencies among retail investors led to bitcoin price hitting the equivalent of $11,000 yesterday, a premium of over 10%. Today, bitcoin price has surpassed $12,000 in Korean exchanges, where fiat won trading accounts for nearly a fifth of the global market.