16 crypto platforms including KuCoin serving illegally in South Korea: Regulator
The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), a top financial regulator in South Korea, on Thursday urged its local consumers who use overseas cryptocurrency exchanges to verify whether such platforms are registered with the Korean Financial Services Authority.
The watchdog revealed that a total of 16 virtual asset providers (VASPs) have failed to register with the financial regulator and are therefore considered illegal business operators in South Korea.
The regulator identified the crypto exchanges as follows: KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Bit threatZB.com, Bitglobal, CoinW, CoinEX, AAX, ZoomEX, Poloniex, BTCEX, BTCC, DigiFinex and Pionex.
KoFIU stated that it has informed the investigative authority about illegal crypto exchanges targeting Korean users by offering Korean-language services.
Finanstilsynet further said it has asked the Korea Communications Commission to block the companies’ website access to local users to prevent their unregistered business activities in the country.
In July last year, KoFIU informed foreign providers of virtual asset services, which attract Korean users, to register with the Financial Supervisory Authority.
So far, the 16 platforms have not been able to complete the required registration duty within the given time frame.
In a statement on Thursday, KoFIU said: “Virtual asset users should check whether the VASPs they are dealing with are legitimately registered with the authority in accordance with the law.”
The watchdog mentioned that it will continue to closely monitor the illegal business activities of unregistered firms.
Strengthening the local digital asset markets
South Korea’s crypto market grew to more than 55 trillion Korean won ($42 billion) by the end of 2021, with a total number of users reaching over 15 million people, according to statistics from KoFIU.
The crash that hit the crypto market in May and June this year negatively affected the Korean market in its prime – affecting around 280,000 investors in South Korea, with many claiming to have lost their savings and some even taking their own lives .
To deal with the fallout from the multi-billion Terra-LUNA disaster, regulators in South Korea recently began embarking on reforms in the digital asset sector.
The authorities promised to build infrastructure for digital financial innovation by developing a regulatory framework for emerging digital sectors such as crypto-assets and partial investments, among others, including direct involvement of banks in the country’s $42 billion crypto industry.
Image source: Shutterstock
