Global cryptocurrency exchanges are no longer included in Busan City’s plans for digital exchange

The South Korean city of Busan, known for its blockchain technology, has taken a step toward establishing a local cryptocurrency exchange but has ditched most of its centralised worldwide exchange partners. After the recent catastrophic collapse of centralised exchanges, a radical option was made.

The city announced the formation of a steering group made up of 18 local blockchain professionals, but none of the five exchanges that had earlier this year committed to helping the city set up its first legal digital asset exchange was among them. The five exchanges were FTX, Huobi Global, Gate.io, Crypto.com, and Binance.

The steering committee is a municipal advisory group entrusted with offering suggestions on the setup and management of the digital asset exchange as well as improving the system of external collaboration.

In the wake of FTX’s collapse, it was evident that the city of Busan may be planning to exclude international cryptocurrency exchanges. The municipal government had second thoughts about including such private discussions in their plans, but they were convinced that they could advance their blockchain objectives without outside help.

The issues with cryptocurrency exchanges like “FTX and other large worldwide exchanges seem to have affected [the decision],” according to one committee member. According to a different participant, the exchanges were merely required for providing early liquidity and were never a crucial component of the city’s plan.

The city of Busan plans to build up an exchange that categorises digital assets as securities and non-security, as well as a market management organisation in charge of listing and appraisal, market monitoring and supervision, and deposit and settlement. The city decided to enlist members after setting up a solid fund in the first part of the next year.

Busan City received formal recognition as a regulatory-free zone for blockchain technology in July 2019. The city intends to use several blockchain applications in public safety, logistics, tourism, and finance. Since then, the local administration has been actively pushing its blockchain ambitions, and in late 2019 it announced a partnership with telecom giant KT to build a blockchain-based digital currency.