South Korean Court Allows UpBit to Accept New Clients Again
Date: 2025-03-28 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: BUSINESS
The South Korean judiciary has granted Dunamu, the owner of the crypto exchange UpBit, a request to suspend the ban on attracting new clients. According to the court's decision, the temporary restrictions have been postponed for up to 30 days after the final verdict is announced. Thus, UpBit has again been able to register new users.
Earlier, on February 25, South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) imposed sanctions on UpBit, prohibiting it from processing transactions, including deposits and withdrawals, for new clients. The FIU justified its actions by the fact that the exchange allegedly violated the requirements for interaction with unregistered virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The agency claims that UpBit processed more than 45,000 transactions related to foreign platforms not registered in the country, which is considered a violation of the Financial Reporting and Control of Money Flow Act.
Additionally, the FIU suspects UpBit of failing to comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements. According to the agency, the exchange may have committed up to 600,000 violations related to insufficient verification of customer identities. Since 2018, South Korea has had a strict ban on anonymous cryptocurrency trading, under which all crypto companies are required to comply with identity verification procedures.
Amid the events surrounding UpBit, attention has increased to other participants in the crypto market. The prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into Bithumb. The former head of the exchange, Kim Dae-sik, is suspected of misusing corporate funds when buying real estate. Meanwhile, Google, at the request of the FIU, has restricted access for South Korean users to 17 foreign crypto exchanges that are not sanctioned in the country.
The UpBit situation highlights the growing strictness of cryptocurrency regulation in South Korea. Despite the temporary easing of pressure, the future fate of the exchange will depend on the final court decision.
