The South Korean government will ban the use of anonymous virtual accounts in currency transactions with cryptocurrencies, with the aim of curbing speculation on this type of currency, he said Thursday after a meeting of ministers.

From now on, deposits and withdrawals can only be made to digital portfolios whose data match a bank account with a real name, and the creation of new virtual accounts that are not associated with a bank will also be prohibited.

"We cannot allow this abnormal situation of speculation to continue any longer,"said the South Korean minister of the Office of Government Policy Coordination, Hong Nam-ki, in statements gathered by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

This measure goes against one of the main features of virtual currencies, the blockchain, which is a technology that allows transactions between two parties to be recorded and filed verifiably, permanently and anonymously without the need for intermediaries.

However, the rules that South Korea will impose from now onwards are similar to those already applied by Japan and other countries, where by decision of regulators, the cryptocurrencies markets require their users to register with official documents.

The Financial Intelligence Service and the South Korean Financial Supervision Service will conduct joint inspections of virtual currency cryptocurrencies operators to ensure that transactions are always conducted under a real name.

South Korea is one of the most important markets for this type of currency, with close to one million people in possession of virtual currencies such as bitcóin or ethereum, and where approximately one in three workers has invested in these currencies, according to a recent survey.

Both in Japan and Japan, these currencies have become a popular means of payment, although most users use them to deposit savings or as a pension fund against the meager returns of other investment assets.

According to Hong, speculation with this type of currency has been on the rise in South Korea, where the values of many cryptocurrencies are higher than in foreign markets and as their value is not guaranteed by the Central Bank, it could fluctuate and cause significant losses.

The South Korean Minister of Justice would even have proposed to close the cryptocurrency markets in the Asian country, although finally the measures that have been taken will only fight against their anonymity, money laundering and reduce advertising on these currencies.