Abstract
Historically, the Facebook's Libra project triggered the international financial supervisory bodies and major countries’ interest in stablecoin. Since the publication of the Libra project, the international community has rapidly discussed a regulatory system related to stablecoin. In line with these international discussions, the MiCAR (Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation) proposal proposed in September 2020 is expected to have a significant impact on not only EU member states but also non-member countries like Republic of Korea in the near future. The MiCAR proposal is the latest cryptoasset market regulation bill in the world and can be evaluated as showing the most systematic regulation for cryptoasset markets. In particular, with regard to asset reference tokens and e-money tokens, which can be called an EU version of stablecoins, the MiCAR is featured with a detailed regulatory system for stablecoins that reflects the related international discussions. The MiCAR introduces a disclosure regulation of cryptoasset white papers similar to that of securities registration statements in securities regulation, while MiCAR specifies detailed and strict regulatory arrangements for stablecoins, such as authorization and reserve assets regulations.
Currently, 12 bills related to virtual assets have been submitted to the 21st National Assembly of Republic of Korea. Unfortunately, however, no bill has been found containing stablecoin regulation. This can be an affirmative evidence that Republic of Korea has been far behind in the related international discussions. Therefore, it is necessary to include the regulation of stablecoins in the relevant legislation, based on the MiCAR proposal in the future, and such a legislation can is considered as a measure suitable for the status of Korea, a member of the FSB. The MiCAR proposal also includes detailed regulations on which supervisory bodies have certain roles and powers in relation to global stablecoins, which is expected to give certain implications for defining regulatory jurisdiction of global stablecoins in the future. Given that the regulatory discussion of global stablecoins began from the perspective of financial stability and the transmission of monetary policy, the relevant agency of Republic Korea should perform in-depth research on regulatory policies with regard to global stablecoins and lead international cooperation. Of course, practical matters concerning cooperation and coordination between related supervisory agencies in Korea should also be discussed in the process of the legislation in relation to virtual assets.
Currently, 12 bills related to virtual assets have been submitted to the 21st National Assembly of Republic of Korea. Unfortunately, however, no bill has been found containing stablecoin regulation. This can be an affirmative evidence that Republic of Korea has been far behind in the related international discussions. Therefore, it is necessary to include the regulation of stablecoins in the relevant legislation, based on the MiCAR proposal in the future, and such a legislation can is considered as a measure suitable for the status of Korea, a member of the FSB. The MiCAR proposal also includes detailed regulations on which supervisory bodies have certain roles and powers in relation to global stablecoins, which is expected to give certain implications for defining regulatory jurisdiction of global stablecoins in the future. Given that the regulatory discussion of global stablecoins began from the perspective of financial stability and the transmission of monetary policy, the relevant agency of Republic Korea should perform in-depth research on regulatory policies with regard to global stablecoins and lead international cooperation. Of course, practical matters concerning cooperation and coordination between related supervisory agencies in Korea should also be discussed in the process of the legislation in relation to virtual assets.
| Translated title of the contribution | Global Trends of Stablecoin Regulation and Regulators’ Roles Under the MiCAR Proposal |
|---|---|
| Original language | Korean |
| Pages (from-to) | 47-104 |
| Number of pages | 58 |
| Journal | 금융법연구 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - 2021 |