South Korea bans initial coin offerings
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South Korea has become the latest country to ban initial coin offerings, an increasingly popular but unregulated form of capital raising.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said on Friday all ICOs would be banned and the financial watchdog added that virtual currency trading needed to be tightly controlled.
ICOs have become a popular mechanism used by companies to raise cash as an alternative to the typical venture capital model. Start-ups issue coins that can be later used to buy its products. Investors pay for the coins using cryptocurrency.
However, the unregulated nature of the process has sparked concern among regulators.
China declared ICOs illegal earlier this month, and on Thursday the Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued new guidance for ICO issuers, warning consumers that they must understand potential risks and be wary of scams.
The UK financial watchdog issued a similar warning on September 12.
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