😱 Foreign Crypto Outlaws Face Korean Wrath! 🇰🇷

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In a turn of events most dramatic, it has come to the notice of the esteemed Financial Services Commission that a number of foreign crypto exchanges, the likes of BitMEX, KuCoin, CoinW, Bitunix, and KCEX, have had the audacity to operate within our esteemed borders without so much as a by-your-leave from the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). The Hankyung, that most reliable of sources, has been the bearer of this most astonishing news.

Amongst these culprits, KuCoin stands as the most prodigious, with a daily trading volume that would make even the most seasoned of gamblers blush, amounting to a staggering $850 million, as CoinMarketCap would have us believe.

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), with all the gravity and decorum that such an office entails, has been conducting an inquiry into these platforms and has ascertained that they have been conducting their business most clandestinely amongst our people.

In a manner most ungentlemanly, these exchanges have been catering to the South Korean market without so much as a nod to the propriety of marketing and customer support. The nerve!

In response, the agency is contemplating a most severe reprimand, including the blocking of these ne’er-do-wells’ websites, with the invaluable assistance of the Korea Communications Standards Commission.

“Mark our words,” declares the FIU, “retribution shall be ours before the year is out.”

Hankyung further illuminates us with the revelation that VASPs must bend the knee to the FIU and receive its blessing before engaging in any financial endeavors. 

“To neglect this duty,” the report sternly advises, “is to court not only the wrath of the law but also the harshest of sanctions.”

The Allure of the South Korean Market

South Korea, that shining beacon of crypto trading, stands as one of the most prominent markets in this global spectacle. In the “2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index” report by Chainalysis, it holds a position of no small importance at the 19th rank.

Last December, the nation’s retail crypto trading volume soared to the heavens, reaching the astronomical sum of $18 billion, leaving the stock market most put out by outpacing it by a full 22%. 

However, the regulatory atmosphere has proven most daunting, leading several local exchanges to throw in the towel. Coinspeaker, ever the chronicler of such events, reported that a band of 11 crypto exchanges had to cease their activities due to the relentless pressure from the powers that be.

This has winnowed the number of active exchanges to a mere 31. 

In the past 24 hours, the lion’s share of crypto trading has been accounted for by the titans Upbit and Bithumb, with volumes that would make a sailor blush. Yet, even Upbit, the mightiest of them all, received a stern warning from the FIU for its less-than-stellar adherence to the anti-money laundering policies. A most cautionary tale, indeed!

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2025-03-21 16:01