Busan city drops global crypto exchanges from its digital exchange plans

• The government of South Korea aims to build Busan City as the blockchain center of Asia.
• Busan City was officially designated as a regulation-free blockchain zone in July 2019.

Busan, South Korea’s blockchain city, has taken a step closer to establishing a local crypto exchange, but it has dropped most of its global centralized exchange partners. The drastic decision follows the recent massive failure of centralized exchanges.

The city announced the formation of a steering committee comprised of 18 local blockchain experts, but none of the five exchanges that agreed earlier this year to help the city establish its first official digital asset exchange were present. Binance, Crypto.com, Gate.io, Huobi Global, and FTX were among the five exchanges.

The steering committee is supposed to offer advice on the establishment and operation of the digital asset exchange, besides strengthening the system of external cooperation.

Following FTX’s collapse, it became clear that global crypto exchanges could be removed from the plan. The administration had second thoughts about including such private exchanges in their plans but was confident in their ability to move forward with their blockchain goals without the need for third-party assistance.

According to one committee member, the problems with major global crypto exchanges such as FTX appear to have influenced the decision. Another council member stated that the exchanges were never a part of the city’s plan and were only required to provide initial liquidity.

South Korea’s crypto plans jeopardized

The government of South Korea aims to build Busan City as the blockchain center of Asia. The City intends to create an exchange that categorizes digital assets as securities or non-securities, as well as a market management organization in charge of listing and evaluating digital assets, market monitoring, supervision, deposit and settlement.

The City decided to recruit members after establishing a fund in the first half of the following year.

Busan City was officially designated as a regulation-free blockchain zone in July 2019. The City intends to use blockchain technology in a variety of industries, including tourism, finance, logistics, and public safety.

Since then, the government has been aggressively pursuing its blockchain plans. In late 2019, it announced the creation of a blockchain-based digital currency in collaboration with telecommunications company KT.