S Korean MP Tells Gov’t: ‘Don’t Let a Crypto Monopoly Emerge’

A South Korean ruling party lawmaker has urged the government to prevent Upbit, the nations market-leading crypto exchange, from creating a de facto “monopoly” – insisting that Seoul should ensure the survival of “at least three or four” rival exchanges.　　As previously reported, Upbit is so far the only exchange in the country to have submitted its official application to become a licensed trading platform operator after sealing a deal with the neobank K-Bank. The latter has established a lucrative and successful partnership with Upbit in recent months.　　But although industry insiders have told both Cryptonews.com and members of the domestic press that Upbits three biggest rivals – Korbit, Bithumb, and Coinone – could be ready to submit their own documentation to the regulator before the week is out, thus far Upbit remains the only exchange on track to stay open after a September 24 deadline.　　Per Asia Kyungjae, Noh Woong-rae, the Democratic Party MP for the affluent Seoul district of Mapo and a fierce critic of President Moon Jae-ins administration, stated that allowing “at least” the aforementioned exchanges to survive would benefit customers.　　Noh was quoted as warning:　　“If a monopoly market emerges, a cryptocurrency exchange could list or delist coins at will, or