Cryptocurrency prices in Seoul.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergHooyeon Kim
South Korea approved its first standalone digital-asset bill to boost investor protection just over a year after the implosion of tokens created by countryman Do Kwon exacerbated a $2 trillion crypto-market rout.
Parliament on Friday passed the Virtual Asset User Protection legislation, which integrates 19 crypto-related bills, after a prolonged delay. The code defines digital assets and imposes penalties for transgressions such as the use of nonpublic information, market manipulation and unfair trading practices.