South Korea's FSC Launches Probe into Crypto Exchange Fees

First Step Towards Easing Costs for Young Traders

Hold onto your hats, crypto fans! South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) is diving deep into the murky waters of transaction fees charged by local crypto exchanges. This move is the first real action towards fulfilling President Lee Jae-myung's fiery pledge to ease the financial burden on young traders.

On June 19, the FSC dropped the bombshell: they're launching a full-blown fact-finding mission into those pesky fees, a scoop first caught by the Herald Economy.

During a no-holds-barred policy briefing to the Presidential Transition Committee, the FSC laid out their game plan. They're going to dissect the fee structures, scrutinize how these fees are collected, and even peek at the revenue streams of big names like Bithumb, Upbit, and Coinone. No stone will be left unturned!

The mission? To find out if these fees are squeezing consumers dry and to brainstorm some solid regulatory solutions. While they haven't pegged a specific target rate yet, they're eyeing global benchmarks and user impact studies to shape their strategy.

But wait, there's more! The investigation will also shine a light on whether these exchanges are playing fair and disclosing their fee structures transparently.

This bold move comes hot on the heels of President Lee's campaign promise to slash crypto transaction fees from the current average of 0.05% down to a cool 0.015%. He's all about empowering the youth!

And that's not all—President Lee's also pushing to legalize spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Get this: his ETF proposal has even won over his rival Moon-soo and the People Power Party. Both sides are on board to greenlight spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs by the end of the year. Talk about a rare moment of unity!

As if that wasn't enough, Lee's also floated the idea of letting the nation's massive $884 billion pension fund dip its toes into the crypto pool. Buckle up, because South Korea's crypto scene is about to get a whole lot more exciting!