South Korea To Drop Massive Fines on Its Top Crypto Exchanges — Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit First in Line

Key Takeaways

• South Korea’s fiscal watchdog is preparing a caller circular of sanctions connected large crypto exchanges for KYC/AML violations.

• Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX are expected to look penalties pursuing months of on-site inspections.

• Regulators volition contented sanctions successful the bid inspections were completed, with Dunamu (Upbit’s operator) already deed with dense fines.

South Korea’s crypto manufacture is bracing for different question of enforcement arsenic the country’s fiscal watchdog prepares to authorisation respective large exchanges for anti-money-laundering failures.

According to section reports, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has completed a year-long bid of on-site inspections crossed the country’s apical crypto trading platforms.

Now, the regulator is moving into the punishment phase, 1 that manufacture observers accidental could reflector the dense sanctions precocious imposed connected Upbit’s operator, Dunamu.

After finishing on-site inspections of Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX, the FIU is present conducting ineligible reviews and preparing its sanctions committee.

Officials are pursuing a straightforward “first-in, first-out” rule: the earlier an speech was inspected, the sooner its penalties volition beryllium finalized.

That puts Korbit, GOPAX, Bithumb, and Coinone adjacent successful line, apt successful that order.

The inspections focused connected compliance with South Korea’s Special Financial Transactions Act, peculiarly whether exchanges decently enforced Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verification and reported suspicious transactions.

An manufacture authoritative interviewed by section media said that due to the fact that the FIU reviewed each speech nether the aforesaid ineligible framework, the severity of sanctions “is improbable to disagree meaningfully” from those levied against Dunamu.

In February, the FIU issued a disciplinary informing to Dunamu’s CEO and suspended Upbit’s onboarding of caller customers for 3 months.

It followed up with a good of 35.2 cardinal KRW ($26 million) for KYC failures and reporting lapses.

South Korea’s crypto authorities is wide recognized arsenic 1 of the strictest successful the world.

Regulators person agelong maintained that fast-growing digital-asset markets necessitate oversight connected par with accepted finance—if not stricter.

That posture grew retired of 2 large moments: the ICO roar of 2017, erstwhile retail speculation exploded, and the 2022 marketplace contagion triggered by planetary speech failures.

Both pushed lawmakers toward a much conservative, risk-averse stance.

In caller years, South Korea has tightened rules crossed the board: