In an interesting development from South Korea, the Korea Times reports that Hong Eui-rak, the representative of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is leading the move to change the country's stance on Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and launch of new cryptocurrencies.
10 other lawmakers in the country seem to support this move and are currently working on a bill that will endorse the move to legalise launching new cryptocurrencies in South Korea.
In my article Is Singapore The New Hotbed For Cryptocurrency Startup Projects? I wrote about companies from China, and South Korea moving to Singapore and Hong Kong to setup companies and launch new tokens owing to ease of doing business overseas.
Korean government seems to have taken note of the changing dynamics and adaptability of emerging companies in the blockchain space and wants to retain and empower local startups to launch their tokens from Korea.
There is a caveat however:
The bill does not seek unlimited ICOs, but ones initiated by public organizations and research centers committed to promoting and developing blockchain technology. Their ICOs will be subject to tight supervision by the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Science and ICT, according to the bill.
I doubt this will stifle the growth but instead it will enable many startups trying to provide new solutions to existing issues will find the laws reasonable enough to remain in the country and continue innovating.
The fact that the Korean government feels that ICOs, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies can pave the way for a better economy and reduction in cash transactions is worth noting!
"Blockchain and cryptos can be used in various public sectors for good causes," Chung said. "Given their potential, we need to work to help reduce political uncertainties they face."
What fascinates me the most are forward thinking politicians such as Hong. These are the kind of people we need in India. The fact that they are trying to remove political hindrances slowing down innovation in this space speaks volumes about their perceptions about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
The bill is aimed at legalizing ICOs under the government's supervision," Hong said during a forum on ICOs and blockchain technology at the National Assembly on Wednesday. He said the bill was based on a joint study by his office and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).
"The primary goal (of the legislation) is helping remove uncertainties facing blockchain-related businesses," Hong said.
These disruptive new technologies are here to stay and governments themselves can benefit a lot by regulating this industry and making it viable for their citizens to participate in it. Blockchain space has the potential to generate millions of new employment opportunities.
Government of India-Wake up will ya?
The Indian economy and job sector isn't particularly great at the moment. Many government policies including unconstitutional and illegal mandate from India's central bank are only thwarting the inevitable rise of cryptocurrency and it's adoption as well as stifling innovation and employment of it's own citizens in this space.
India produces some of the highest number of engineers in the world. If blockchain technology and dApp development could be taught in colleges, I'm sure the growth in this sector would be phenomenal.
Many companies in the Indian IT sector today are downsizing due to lack of business and loss of clients. If only there were laws and regulation surrounding these emerging technologies in India, an employment crisis could be averted.
Korea needs to lead the way!
Kudos to the Korean government for changing it's mind on ICOs and I hope they do all they can do empower their citizens to use these new technologies. Korea has a well educated and smart workforce and their citizens are open to new technologies.
Sixty-five percent of Korean 25-34-year-olds have attained tertiary education (OECD: 2010), while over 97 percent of that same age group has finished at least upper secondary education. By both measures, Korea ranks Number One among OECD countries as per this report.
I've read in some reports that the Korean government wants to move towards a cashless society in a few years. Imbibing cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology and enabling mainstream adoption in its country is the first step towards meeting this long term goals.
Koreans are one of the biggest users of Steemit and they love the Steem and SBD tokens. I hope to see some incredible innovation from Korea in the years to come in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. The world is watching these developments and I hope S.E.Asian countries will be the hotbed for innovation in this space within a decade.
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