Bitcoin News and Finance
Korean Regulator Takes Action Against 16 Foreign Crypto Exchanges Skip to main content

Korean Regulator Takes Action Against 16 Foreign Crypto Exchanges

Korean Regulator Takes Action Against 16 Foreign Crypto Exchanges

The South Korean financial intelligence unit is taking action against 16 foreign cryptocurrency exchanges for operating illegally in the country. “For illegal business activities of unregistered entities, maximum of 5 years of imprisonment or up to KRW 50 million of fines can be imposed,” the regulator said.

16 Foreign Crypto Exchanges Flagged by South Korean Regulator

South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), announced Thursday that the country’s financial intelligence unit (KoFIU) has notified investigative authorities about the illegal business activities of 16 unregistered virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

The KoFIU is South Korea’s financial intelligence unit (FIU) and the lead agency in the Asian country for anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) matters.

The 16 entities are Kucoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Bitrue, ZB.com, Bitglobal, Coinw, Coinex, AAX, Zoomex, Poloniex, BTCEX, BTCC, Digifinex, and Pionex.

All 16 crypto exchanges are based outside of Korea without a formal domestic presence, the regulator said, adding that they were found to be engaging in crypto business activities targeting domestic consumers. For example, they offer Korean-language websites, host promotional events targeting Korean consumers, and provide a payment option that supports the purchase of crypto assets using credit cards in the country.

The KoFIU notified foreign-based crypto exchanges on July 22 last year that they must register their business with the authority. However, the 16 aforementioned entities continued to operate in South Korea without obtaining registration.

The authority detailed:

For illegal business activities of unregistered entities, maximum of 5 years of imprisonment or up to KRW 50 million [$38,000] of fines can be imposed with a restriction for registering as a VASP in domestic market for a certain period of time.

The regulator explained that financial authorities in the jurisdictions hosting the service providers will be informed and related credit card processing will be halted in the domestic market. In addition, “Transfers of virtual assets to and from the 16 unregistered entities will be made impossible as the authorities have issued an administrative guidance requiring suspension of transactions between the registered and unregistered entities,” the KoFIU described.

Emphasizing that “the authorities plan to take necessary measures” to stop crypto service providers from operating without registration in South Korea, the regulator stressed:

The KoFIU will continue to closely monitor illegal business activities carried out by unregistered entities and maintain close cooperation with relevant authorities.

What do you think about the South Korean regulator taking action against crypto exchanges operating illegally in the country? Let us know in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory