Lawmakers in South Korea Declare Their Wallets “Full of Crypto Dust”

Posted by cryptonews Crypto News September 23, 2024 2.2k Views

One MP said he sold $85,700 worth of Bitcoin right after declaring his tokens.

Detractors of South Korean politicians’ token ownership argue their wallets are essentially empty of anything except “crypto dust.”

Per Sisa Journal, many notable crypto-holding lawmakers have sold their coins. This is likely due to ongoing crypto-related political scandals.

Crypto Dust Is All We Have Left, MPs Claim

The Coin Gate incident is foremost among them. Kim Nam-guk, a former lawmaker and member of the parliamentary commission on cryptocurrency, was charged in the case with trading coins using insider knowledge.

Legislators began accusing one another of secretly owning tokens ahead of parliamentary elections after more claims of cryptocurrency insider trading surfaced.

Consequently, lawmakers in South Korea and their families are now required by law to make crypto declarations.

Therefore, it seems that many lawmakers have simply liquidated their crypto holdings rather than coming under public scrutiny for them.

This implies that all that is left in their wallets are a few coins linked to airdrops and a small amount of cryptocurrency dust.

What Is Crypto Dust?

Crypto “dust” refers to tiny quantities of cryptoassets that are typically too small to be traded.

Typically, this dust builds up when cryptocurrency owners sell off a maximum quantity of their holdings, leaving behind small amounts that are subject to the minimum trade limits set by the exchanges.

Out of 300 elected National Assembly members, only 36 claimed to have any cryptocurrency holdings with a monetary value greater than zero before the elections on April 10.

But just 0.01% of the combined asset values of all 300 lawmakers are made up of cryptocurrency. This, the media outlet explained, is an “absolutely insignificant amount.”

Furthermore, a large number of individuals who declared coins seemed to have sold their cryptoassets quickly.

The media outlet spoke to Chun Ha-ram of the New Reform Party, who reported that his wife had 11 crypto wallets holding tokens “worth a total of 22,000 won ($16.51).”

Chun Ha-ram, New Reform Party Lawmaker. (Source: JTBC News/YouTube)

Six of these coins, Chun told the outlet, were airdrops to EOS coin holders, while three others were airdropped to XRP owners.

“[We] sold everything that could be sold. [We] are left with only small amounts of [dust] that cannot be traded.”Chun Ha-ram, New Reform Party Lawmaker

Bitcoin Sell-off

The news source also used Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jun-hyeok as an example, who disclosed that he was in possession of Bitcoin (BTC) valued at 114.2 million won ($85,700).

Kim Jun-hyeok, though, has since asserted that “after declaring it,” he “disposed of all” of his Bitcoin.

Before the election, lawmaker Park Chung-kwon of the People’s Power Party disclosed that she owned Solana (SOL) valued at 58.8 million won ($44,128).

However, Park added that in February of this year, he had sold every SOL holding he had.

Scandal Pushing Lawmakers Away from Crypto?

According to records, many lawmakers have also sold off a large portion of their holdings as soon as they received airdropped coins, the media outlet continued.

For those who are interested in cryptocurrency at home, the records do make interesting reading.

They suggest that some lawmakers have historically been very active on the Bitcoin and altcoin markets.

A member of parliament declared to be the owner of roughly forty-five altcoin wallets. However, the same MP determined that the coins were worth slightly more than $580.

Meanwhile, Kim Nam-guk is scheduled to go on trial regarding ongoing accusations. Prosecutors charged the former Democratic Party MP with utilizing cryptocurrency to conceal his assets last month.

Prosecutors believe he concealed nearly $7.5 million in wealth through the use of cryptoassets.

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