STRICTER INSPECTIONS ON CRYPTOCURRENCY

[Anchor Lead]

Volatility in the cryptocurrency market is mounting, as investors are flocking to it to invest their liquid assets. The government will carry out special inspections on the unusually heated market for three months. The move is to address the currencies' fluctuating prices and alleged illegal activities such as money laundering.

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A tweet saying the U.S. Treasury Department is moving to investigate money laundering schemes using cryptocurrencies sent the price Bitcoin into a frenzy. The price of Bitcoin nosedived from 78 million won to 70 million won. But it surged back to top 76 million won in a day and continued the roller-coaster ride. The combined volume of other cyptocurrencies has also increased five fold this year. Amid this escalating volatility, the Korean cryptocurrency market attracted investments of over 24 trillion won last Thursday alone. It's larger than March's daily average investment in the stock market by individual investors.

[Soundbite] Jeong Yu-shin(Sogang Univ.) : "As private virtual currencies are quite uncertain in terms of exchange value called fundamentals, they are vulnerable to external shocks and become volatile extremely."

Warning against this frenzy, the government will conduct special crackdowns on the cyrptocurrency market for three months. The Financial Services Commission will look into possible money laundering. If suspicious transactions are discovered, the FSC will report them to law enforcement and tax agencies.

[Soundbite] Jeon Yo-seop(FSC) : "We categorized and handed over various cases that financial companies can refer to for reporting. For example, it is dubious if people begin transferring money suddenly or in chunks."

Police and the Fair Trade Commission will also launch investigations into pyrmaid schemes, fraudulent investments and unfair contracts.