"Forcing the sale of stakes?"… virtual asset industry protests

Property rights infringement controversy likely to grow

When the government pushed for measures to limit the shareholdings held by major shareholders of domestic virtual asset exchanges, the related industry reacted angrily, calling it "excessive regulation." If the regulation materializes, a fierce controversy over infringement of property rights is expected.

On the 31st, according to the virtual asset industry, major domestic virtual asset exchanges immediately voiced concerns upon hearing that financial authorities are promoting 'ownership dispersion.' A representative of a virtual asset exchange said, "If major shareholders are forced to sell their shares, it could lead to financial losses," adding, "Not only would management rights be threatened, but the competitiveness of the virtual asset market would also weaken."

Virtual asset exchanges argued that it is not realistically easy to suddenly transform into a dispersed ownership structure like domestic securities exchanges. Currently, the major shareholders of the Korea Exchange are domestic securities firms, and their share ratios are at most in the 6% range per firm. The major shareholders of the alternative exchange NextTrade are eight entities including the Korea Financial Investment Association, Korea Investment & Securities, and Mirae Asset Securities, each holding 6.6% of the shares.

Reporter Jinseong Kim jskim1028@hankyung.com