South Korea blocks 27 crypto exchanges, including Bitmart and Kucoin
South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit has blocked access to 27 unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges, including major platforms like KuCoin and BitMart. The move is part of a broader regulatory effort to enforce anti-money laundering compliance and protect domestic investors.
Why it matters
This reflects the global trend of increasing regulatory oversight in the crypto sector to prevent illicit financial activities.
The country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) announced Tuesday that the Korea Communications Standards Commission approved the restrictions following reviews on Oct. 6 and 7. Websites operated from overseas will be blocked, while those operating domestically face service termination, the FIU noted.
The move closes another route for South Korean investors to access unregistered exchanges after authorities restricted access to their mobile apps on Google and Apple last year. Regulators can now seek website blocks as soon as they detect unregistered activity, without waiting for a court ruling or evidence that customers have lost money.
The FIU did not specify how long the restrictions will last or set a deadline for the exchanges to register. However, any exchange that wants to legally operate in the country and serve South Korean customers must register with the FIU and meet the country’s security and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in