South Korea temporarily lifts Upbit’s 3-month ban on serving new clients

Published

3 days ago

March 27, 2025

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South Korea temporarily lifts Upbit’s 3-month ban on serving new clients

A South Korean court temporarily lifted the partial business suspension on crypto exchange Upbit that had prohibited the trading platform from servicing new clients for three months.

On Feb. 25, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) sanctioned the exchange, imposing a three-month ban on deposits and withdrawals for new clients. The FIU previously said the suspension was in response to Upbit’s violations of policies that prohibit exchanges from transacting with unregistered virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

In response to the FIU’s sanction, Upbit’s parent company, Dunamu, filed a lawsuit against the FIU, seeking to overturn the partial suspension order. In addition, Dunamu requested an injunction to temporarily lift the suspension order.

On March 27, local media Newsis reported that the court granted the injunction, moving the suspension order 30 days after a court judgment is reached. This allows Upbit to service new clients while the legal battle continues.

Upbit investigations led to a 3-month suspension order

Founded in 2017, Upbit is South Korea’s largest crypto exchange. On Oct. 10, the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) initiated an investigation into Upbit for potential breaches of the country’s anti-monopoly laws.

In addition to anti-monopoly breaches, the exchange is suspected of violating Know Your Customer (KYC) rules. On Nov. 15, the FIU identified up at least 500,000 to 600,000 potential KYC violations of the exchange. The regulator spotted alleged breaches while reviewing the exchange’s business license renewal.

In 2018, South Korean regulators ended anonymous crypto trading for its citizens. With the new development, users must pass KYC procedures before being allowed to trade digital assets on crypto trading platforms like Upbit.

Apart from these allegations, the FIU accused Upbit of facilitating 45,000 transactions with unregistered foreign crypto exchanges. This violates the country’s Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information.

South Korea cracks down on overseas exchanges

On Oct. 25, 2024, South Korea strengthened its oversight of cross-border crypto asset transactions. The country’s finance minister, Choi Sang-Mok, said the government will introduce a reporting mandate for businesses that handle cross-border transactions with digital assets.

This aims to promote preemptive monitoring of crypto transactions “used for tax evasion and currency manipulation.”

In line with the rules, South Korea’s Google Play blocked the applications of 17 crypto exchanges at the request of the FIU. The FIU said it’s also working to restrict exchange access using the internet and Apple’s App Store.

Magazine: Ridiculous ‘Chinese Mint’ crypto scam, Japan dives into stablecoins: Asia Express

Politics

Stablecoin rules needed in US before crypto tax reform, experts say

Published

3 hours ago

March 30, 2025

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Stablecoin rules needed in US before crypto tax reform, experts say

United States cryptocurrency regulations need more clarity on stablecoins and banking relationships before lawmakers prioritize tax reform, according to industry leaders and legal experts.

“In my view, tax isn’t necessarily the priority for upgrading US crypto regulation,” according to Mattan Erder, general counsel at layer-3 decentralized blockchain network Orbs.

A “tailored regulatory approach” for areas including securities laws and removing “obstacles in banking” is a priority for US lawmakers with “more upside” for the industry, Erder told Cointelegraph.

“The new Trump administration is clearly all in on crypto and is taking steps that we could have only dreamed about a few years ago (including during his first term),” he said. “It seems likely that crypto regulation will be able to have it all and get much more clear and rational regulation in all areas, including tax.”

Still, Erder noted there are limits to what President Donald Trump can accomplish through executive orders and regulatory agency action alone. “At some point, the laws themselves will need to change, and for that, he will need Congress,” he said.

Trump’s March 7 executive order, which directed the government to establish a national Bitcoin reserve using crypto assets seized in criminal cases, was seen as a signal of growing federal support for digital assets.

Debanking concerns remain

Despite the administration’s recent pro-crypto moves, industry experts say crypto firms may continue to face difficulties with banking access until at least January 2026.

“It’s premature to say that debanking is over,” as “Trump won’t have the ability to appoint a new Fed governor until January,” Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show.

The Crypto Debanking Crisis: #CHAINREACTION https://t.co/nD4qkkzKnB

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 21, 2025

Industry outrage over alleged debanking reached a crescendo when a June 2024 lawsuit spearheaded by Coinbase resulted in the release of letters showing US banking regulators asked certain financial institutions to “pause” crypto banking activities.

Stablecoin legislation could unlock new growth

David Pakman, managing partner at crypto investment firm CoinFund, said a stablecoin regulatory framework could encourage more traditional finance institutions to adopt blockchain-based payments.

“Some of the potentially soon-to-pass legislation in the US, like the stablecoin bill, will unlock many of the traditional banks, financial services and payment companies onto crypto rails,” Pakman said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live X show on March 27.

“We hear this firsthand when we talk to them; they want to use crypto rails as a lower-cost, transparent, 24/7, and no middleman-dependent network for transferring money.”

The comments come as the industry awaits progress on US stablecoin legislation, which may come as soon as in the next two months, according to Bo Hines, the executive director of the president’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets.

The GENIUS Act, an acronym for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, would establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Politics

Gig economy bosses could face jail time if they fail to check employers can legally work in UK

Published

10 hours ago

March 30, 2025

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Gig economy bosses could face jail time if they fail to check employers can legally work in UK

Company bosses hiring in the gig economy could face up to five years in prison if they fail to check if their employees can legally work in the UK, the Home Office has said.

The employers could also be banned from operating as company directors, have their business closed down, or be hit with fines of up to £60,000 for every worker who isn’t checked as part of the government crackdown.

The announcement comes as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper prepares to speak to Sky News breakfast show Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips today.

Her department has said “thousands” of companies which hire gig economy and zero-hour contract workers are not legally required to check whether they have the right to work in the UK.

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The gig economy refers to an employment arrangement where work is assigned on a short-term or job-by-job basis in sectors such as construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services.

Food delivery firms Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats all use this approach to employment.

However, all three of those employers already voluntarily carry out checks to ensure their delivery riders are eligible to work in the UK.

The Home Office has now announced that all employers who hire gig economy or zero-hour contract workers will have to carry out these “vital checks” which take “just minutes to complete”.

This amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will help “level the playing field for the majority of honest companies who do the right thing”, the government department added.

The Home Office said it will provide the checks free of charge and that “clamping down” on illegal working forms a “critical part of the government’s plan to strengthen the entire immigration system”.

The move is also intended to “undermine people smugglers using the false promise of jobs for migrants”, it added.

Ms Cooper said: “Turning a blind eye to illegal working plays into the hands of callous people smugglers trying to sell spaces on flimsy, overcrowded boats with the promise of work and a life in the UK.

“These exploitative practices are often an attempt to undercut competitors who are doing the right thing. But we are clear that the rules need to be respected and enforced.”

Meanwhile the government is preparing to host the first international summit in the UK on how to tackle people-smuggling gangs.

Ministers and enforcement staff from 40 countries will meet in London on Monday and Tuesday to discuss international cooperation, supply routes, criminal finances and online adverts for dangerous journeys.

Countries including Albania, Vietnam and Iraq – where migrants have travelled from to the UK – will join the talks as well as France, the US and China.

The government will also hand counter-terror style powers to police and enforcement agencies to crack down on people-smuggling gangs as part of amendments to the bill.

Politics

Bitcoin adoption in EU limited by ‘fragmented’ regulations — Analysts

Published

23 hours ago

March 29, 2025

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Bitcoin adoption in EU limited by ‘fragmented’ regulations — Analysts

Institutional adoption of Bitcoin in the European Union remains sluggish, even as the United States moves forward with landmark cryptocurrency regulations that seek to establish BTC as a national reserve asset.

More than three weeks after President Donald Trump’s March 7 executive order outlined plans to use cryptocurrency seized in criminal cases to create a federal Bitcoin (BTC) reserve, European companies have largely remained silent on the issue.

The stagnation may stem from Europe’s complex regulatory regime, according to Elisenda Fabrega, general counsel at Brickken, a European real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform.

“European corporate adoption remains limited,” Fabrega told Cointelegraph, adding:

“This hesitation reflects a deeper structural divide, rooted in regulation, institutional signaling and market maturity. Europe has yet to take a definitive stance on Bitcoin as a reserve asset.”

Bitcoin’s economic model favors early adopters, which may pressure more investment firms to consider gaining exposure to BTC. The asset has outperformed most major global assets since Trump’s election despite a recent correction.

Despite Trump’s executive order, only a small number of European companies have publicly disclosed Bitcoin holdings or crypto services. These include French banking giant BNP Paribas, Swiss firm 21Shares AG, VanEck Europe, Malta-based Jacobi Asset Management and Austrian fintech firm Bitpanda.

A recent Bitpanda survey suggests that European financial institutions may be underestimating crypto investor demand by as much as 30%.

Europe’s “fragmented” regulatory landscape lacks clarity

The EU’s slower adoption appears tied to its patchwork of regulations and more conservative investment mandates, analysts at Bitfinex told Cointelegraph. “Europe’s institutional landscape is more fragmented, with regulatory hurdles and conservative investment mandates limiting Bitcoin allocations.”

“Additionally, European pension funds and large asset managers have been slower to adopt Bitcoin exposure due to unclear guidelines and risk aversion,” they added.

Beyond the fragmented regulations, European retail investor appetite and retail participation are generally lower than in the US, according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset investment platform Nexo.

Europe is “generally more conservative in adopting new financial instruments,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:

“This stands in stark contrast to the deep, liquid, and relatively unified US capital market, where the spot Bitcoin ETF rollout was buoyed by strong retail demand and a clear regulatory green light.”

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe on March 25, a development that may boost institutional confidence among European investors.