Hong Nam-ki, chief of the Office of the Prime Minister, said Wednesday that the government would make public its position on initial coin offering (ICO) next month.

In a meeting with lawmakers of the National Assembly Policy Committee in Seoul, he said the Financial Supervisory Service has been conducting an extensive probe into the ICO issuers since last month. “Once the regulator completes the probe, the government will make its position on ICO official, “ said Hong who is in charge of coordinating state affairs among the different ministries.

He said many companies bypassed the current ICO ban to raise money. He said the Financial Supervisory Service had sent questionnaires to the blockchain companies which raised funds through ICOs worldwide. It is still unclear whether the current probe is to publish the rule-breaking firms or to establish rules on ICO.

Hong said the government would raise the budget for the blockchain industry to 20 billion won next year, up from 14 billion won this year.