South Korea cracks down on BitMEX, KuCoin over unregistered crypto services: report

South Korea would target unregistered foreign exchanges such as Bitmex and Kucoin for illegal operations, with stations in the study access.

South KoreaThe financial authorities began to take measures against several exchanges of foreign cryptography, in particular Bitmex And KucoinTo provide services to Korean users without appropriate registration under the country’s specific financial information law.

The Korean authorities are considering sanctions against several foreign exchanges which have provided services to South Korean investors without appropriate recording, according to a report by the economic daily life of Korea. A spokesperson for the Financial Intelligence Unit said that the regulator “examines measures to access abroad exchange which still provide services to Korean investors through consultations with Korea Commission Communication standards.”

According to the report, Crypto Exchanges Bitmex, Kucoin, Coinw, Bitunix and KCEX are examined to manage websites in Korean language and target South Korean users with marketing and customer support, all without registering as cryptographic business in the country. Under the current rules, any business dealing with trade, custody or the management of cryptocurrencies in South Korea must register with the CRF, and not do so could lead to criminal sanctions and sanctions.

In 2022, the CRF asked Korea communication standards to block 16 unregistered foreign exchanges, notably Kucoin, Mexc and Poloniex, which led to the withdrawal of numerous exchanges from the South Korean market.

In February, FIU revealed There are only 31 crypto trading companies recorded in South Korea, down more than 26% compared to 42 in 2024. Radored companies include GDAC, Probit, Huobi Korea and Bitrade, among others. In addition to commercial obstacles, many platforms have failed to renew their inscriptions, thus leading to their exclusion from the country’s register, notes the report.