South Korean to Block Access to 17 Unregistered Crypto Exchanges

South Korean financial regulators have taken action against several overseas cryptocurrency exchanges by requesting Google to block access to their services within the country. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has identified 17 such platforms, including Kucoin, MEXC, Phemex, Coinex, and Poloniex, as operating without proper registration.

The FIU announced, "The Financial Intelligence Unit ( FIU) has identified overseas unreported businesses ( 16 companies in 2022, 6 companies in 2023) and is providing guidance to reporting businesses to refrain from doing business with unreported businesses (Article 10-20 of the Act)."

This measure means that South Korean crypto users will be prevented from downloading the apps of these exchanges, and existing users will no longer receive updates. This follows recent enforcement actions initiated by the FIU against exchanges like KuCoin and BitMex for operating in South Korea without registering as Virtual Asset Services Providers (VASPs) under the country's Specific Financial Information Act.

Local media reports from late March 2025 indicated that South Korean authorities were considering stricter measures, potentially including blocking access to all crypto exchanges not registered as VASPs, in cooperation with the Korea Communication Standards Commission (KCSC). Other exchanges reportedly under scrutiny for violating anti-money laundering (AML) and financial regulations include CoinW, Bitunix, and KCEX. Authorities allege that these exchanges have been offering marketing and customer support to South Korean investors without the necessary approvals and compliance processes.

This regulatory crackdown comes at a time when the popularity of cryptocurrency is surging in South Korea. Recent reports indicate that the number of domestic investors holding virtual currencies like Bitcoin has increased by over 50% in the past year, exceeding 9.6 million. Notably, a significant portion of these investors are older, with one in four being over 50 years old. Among those holding more than 1 billion won in virtual currencies, half are reportedly over the age of 50. Data from five major domestic exchanges showed that the total value of virtual currencies held by these investors surpassed 100 trillion won.