35% of South Koreans oppose state regulations on cryptocurrency: poll

Nearly 35 percent of South Koreans oppose the government's push to regulate cryptocurrency, a poll showed Monday, as the country is scrambling to rein in a frenzy over virtual currency in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

According to a survey conducted by online job portal Incruit, 34.9 percent of respondents said the government's move to regulate cryptocurrency is against the "flow of the high-tech industry." The survey was conducted on 571 of registered Incruit users from Thursday to Friday.

Twenty-one percent called for strong regulations to restrain the frenzy, and 42.3 percent said the cryptocurrency market will stabilize over time, according to the poll.

The survey showed that 61.5 percent of respondents had experience investing in virtual currency, and 9.5 percent said they have plans to trade in cryptocurrency despite the government's push to regulate it.

Cyrptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, have rapidly gained popularity in recent years among South Korean investors hoping to make quick money.

South Korea is home to one of the world's biggest private bitcoin exchanges, with more than 2 million people estimated to own some of the best-known digital currency.

South Korea's financial authorities have stepped up monitoring of cryptocurrency trades as they have warned that a bubble may be set to burst. (Yonhap)