[블록체인투데이 이지은 기자] Upbit, a digital asset exchange, has selected the 8 major news in the blockchain and digital asset industry in 2020, following a series of bold changes as the year of 2020 is over.
The major issues selected by Upbit in 2020 include the rapidly rising bitcoin market price, which has recently exceeded 20 million won, changes in each country’s CBDC policy, the start of PayPal’s bitcoin payment service, the introduction of mobile DID services, and the passage of amendments to the special law. Included.
①Bitcoin surpassed 20 million won in about 3 years
Upbit was the first to pick’Bitcoin’s 20 million won breakthrough news’, which is causing the digital asset investment craze. It has been about 3 years since December 2017 that Bitcoin has exceeded 20 million won. Bitcoin, which has been steadily rising this year, has surpassed 20 million won at around 1:30 pm on November 18 at Upbit, and is breaking the record high by surpassing the 26 million won level this month.
Experts estimate that the increase in the opacity of existing safe assets due to quantitative easing, the increase in the inflow of institutional investors for digital assets, the creation of a digital asset-friendly environment centered on the US, and the PayPal issue were positive factors as a factor of rising bitcoin prices.
② Announcement of the introduction of CBDC from central banks around the world
Second,’Announcement of the Introduction of CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) from Countries around the World’ was selected. This is because governments of various countries, which have been disagreeable with the introduction of CBDC, are taking a turn toward the introduction of CBDC. At the’Upbit Developer Conference (UDC) 2020′, Lee Hong-gyu, CEO of Unchain, said, “With Corona 19, the global cash usage environment has been reduced and non-face-to-face and contactless payments are expanding. They are in a hurry.”
In fact, after the Bahamas issued the world’s first CBDC in October of this year, countries around the world, including Europe, which are considering issuing digital euros, and Japan, which announced plans to conduct a universal CBDC experiment, are considering introducing CBDC. China and Sweden have already tested or are in the process of introducing digital currency. The Bank of Korea is also preparing for CBDC business process analysis and external consulting, and is planning to build an experimental distribution system.
③PayPal, Bitcoin payment service started
‘PayPal’s plans to provide digital asset services’ were selected as the third news this year. PayPal, the world’s largest simple payment provider, used by 350 million people, announced the addition of a function to buy and sell digital assets in its PayPal wallet and support payment for digital assets in online merchants. US PayPal users will be able to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc. on PayPal, or pay at 26 million PayPal affiliates.
In the future, the service will expand to 350 million PayPal members worldwide, as well as support the use of more than 26 million PayPal affiliates, which is expected to affect the daily use of digital asset payments.
④ Introduction of mobile DID (Decentralized Identity) service
‘Mobile DID service with commercialization service being released one after another’ is also a major issue in 2020. DID authentication, which proves one’s identity without a central authority, can be stored directly in one’s own device, not in an institution, and can prove identity by providing only necessary information whenever authentication is required. In 2020, the DID service has rapidly expanded its area around mobile devices. The government announced plans to expand it to include a mobile civil servant card, a welfare card for the disabled, and a driver’s license, and local governments and public institutions such as Busan Metropolitan City and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) also introduced mobile DIDs.
Companies are also applying DID technology to services and making commercial cases. Lambda 256 will supply Yanolja with’Luniverse DID’ operated based on Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) and apply it to Yanolja’s hotel management solution used by 25,000 hotels in 160 countries. did.
⑤ DeFi (decentralized finance) market fast growth
‘The DeFi market has grown more than 10 times in half a year’ and has emerged as a key issue for blockchain and digital assets in 2020. DeFi is a blockchain-based financial system that enables all financial transactions such as deposits, loans, payments, and investments without the control of central institutions such as the government, banks, and securities companies. Since there is no intermediary, transaction costs can be reduced, and leveraged investment is possible in various portfolio investment products.
Yoo Ju-Yong, Chief Strategy Officer of DXM, said in a lecture at UDC 2020, “Although it is still small, DeFi is showing explosive growth since last June, and it will evolve faster in the future as the existing financial industry is utilized.”
⑥ Passed the revised bill of the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information (hereinafter referred to as the Special Act)
The biggest institutional change in the field of blockchain and digital assets in 2020, the passage of amendments to the Special Act, was also selected as a major news. The revised bill of the Special Payments Act imposes obligations such as anti-money laundering (AML) to virtual asset providers, and stipulates that only those who comply with the obligations should report and operate. Detailed requirements and obligations for virtual asset providers were stipulated in the enforcement decree announced on November 2.
During the UDC 2020 panel debate, Ji-hoon Lim, director of strategy, said, “With the clear description of what actions digital asset operators should do, it has provided an opportunity to lead the industry more transparently.” Was given.
Ahead of the enforcement of the Special Money Law in March next year, there is also a market movement to preemptively apply the Travel Rule, which is a recommendation of the International Money Laundering Prevention Organization (FATF). ‘Lambda 256’ provides a VerifyVASP solution to help companies comply with travel rules, allowing them to share real-time sender and receiver information of virtual assets through a distributed protocol.
⑦ Digital asset taxation policy and delay in application
‘Announcement of taxation plan for digital asset investment proceeds’ was also included in major news in 2020. The government announced an amendment to the tax law, and decided to apply the tax method by classifying digital assets as other income from October 1st, followed by a three-month delay to apply from 2022. Other income is taxed on a yearly basis and separately at a 20% tax rate, and is taxed on income earned over 2.5 million won per year. If you earned 10 million won from digital asset investment for one year, you will have to pay 1.5 million won, equivalent to a 20% tax rate, for 7.5 million won excluding 2.5 million won.
In the UDC 2020 panel discussion on the establishment of digital asset taxation infrastructure, Lim Ji-hoon, director of Doonamu said, “I repeat buying and selling digital assets several times. When transferring from previously purchased virtual assets sequentially, the acquisition price is matched to calculate taxable income. It is expected that the system will be very complicated as it should be done.” He analyzed that “It seems that it will take a lot of time to think and prepare how to build the system in detail.”
⑧ Existing banks enter the digital asset business
The last major issue was’existing banks’ entry into the digital asset business. KB Kookmin Bank created a joint venture’Korea Digital Asset (KODA)’ with Hatch Labs, a block chain company and Hashed, a block chain investment company, and started a digital asset custody business. KB Kookmin Bank is the first Korean bank to formalize a digital asset business.
Other banks are also preparing to enter the market by preparing blockchain solutions and custodial services. NH Nonghyup Bank established a consortium with Pacific Law Firm and Hexland, a blockchain company, and Shinhan Bank is known to be considering establishing a joint venture for a custudy business with Kobit, a digital asset exchange. As existing banks can register as digital asset operators if they meet the prescribed requirements based on the amendment to the Special Act, digital assets and custodial services are expected to become more active.
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