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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.

Related: South Korea plans to regulate cross-border stablecoin transactions

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

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No 10 decline to say if Palestine will be recognised with Hamas in power

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No 10 decline to say if Palestine will be recognised with Hamas in power

The prime minister’s spokesman has refused eight times to confirm whether recognition of Palestine could go ahead if Hamas remain in power and the hostages are not released. 

Keir Starmer’s spokesman was questioned by journalists for the first time since the announcement last week that the UK will formally recognise the state in September – unless Israel meets certain conditions including abiding by a ceasefire and increasing aid.

The policy has been criticised by the families of UK hostages, campaigners and some Labour MPs, who argue it would reward Hamas and say it should be conditional on the release of the remaining hostages.

A senior Hamas politician, Ghazi Hamad, speaking to Al Jazeera, said at the weekend that major nations’ decision to recognise a Palestinian state “is one of the fruits of 7 October”.

Gaza latest: Trump pressed to recognise Palestinian state

The PM’s spokesman said on Monday: “The PM is clear that on 7 October, Hamas committed the worst act of terror in Israel’s history. That horror has continued since then.

“As the foreign secretary said over the weekend, Hamas are rightly pariahs who can have no role in Gaza’s future, there is a diplomatic consensus on that. Hamas must immediately release all hostages and have no role in the governance of Gaza.”

But asked whether removing Hamas from power and releasing hostages were conditions for statehood, he said a decision on recognition would be made at the UN General Assembly meeting in September, based on “an assessment of how far the parties have met the steps we have set out. No one side will have veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.”

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Up to 300 children could be evacuated from Gaza and given NHS treatment in the UK. The plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks.

He added: “Our focus is on the immediate situation on the ground, getting more aid in to end the suffering in Gaza and supporting a ceasefire and a long-term peace for Israelis and Palestinians based a two-state solution.”

Starmer, who recalled his cabinet for an emergency meeting last week before setting out the new position, is following the lead of French president Emmanuel Macron, who first pledged to move toward recognising Palestinian statehood in April.

Read more:
New US plan for Gaza starting to emerge
Hamas responds to disarmament reports

Canada has also backed recognition if conditions are met, including by the Palestinian Authority.

The prime minister had previously said he would recognise a state of Palestine as part of a contribution to a peace process.

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Efforts to bring Gazan children to the UK for urgent medical treatment are set to be accelerated under new government plans.

In his announcement last Tuesday, he said: “We need to see at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day. But ultimately, the only way to bring this humanitarian crisis to an end is through a long-term settlement.

“So we are supporting the US, Egyptian and Qatari efforts to secure a vital ceasefire. That ceasefire must be sustainable and it must lead to a wider peace plan, which we are developing with our international partners.

“I’ve always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution. With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act.”

Adam Rose, a lawyer acting for British families of hostages in Gaza, has said: “Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?”

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Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

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Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

Former UK Chancellor and current Coinbase adviser George Osborne says the UK is falling behind in the cryptocurrency market, particularly when it comes to stablecoins.

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Nigel Farage dared me to walk in London after 9pm: Here’s my response

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Nigel Farage dared me to walk in London after 9pm: Here's my response

At a press conference today in which Reform UK announced the Tory police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire was joining their ranks, as well as former prison governor Vanessa Frake, I asked Nigel Farage a simple question.

But his answer wasn’t what I expected.

I asked the Reform UK leader if the six-week campaign on law and order, with the tagline “Britain is Lawless”, was in fact project fear scaring people into voting for his party.

He utterly rejected that claim and responded to me saying: “No, they are afraid. They are afraid. I dare you, I dare you to walk through the West End of London after 9 o’clock of an evening wearing jewellery. You wouldn’t do it. You know that I’m right. You wouldn’t do it.”

I am not afraid to walk in the West End of London after 9pm wearing jewellery.

I have done it many times before and will continue to do so… but perhaps that is because I do not own a Rolex.

However, just because Farage is wrong on that point, doesn’t mean he isn’t tapping into other legitimate fears across the country.

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Snatch theft does worry me, hence why I now have a phone case with a strap attached to it that I can put around my body.

And I worry about knife crime in my area and what the impact could be if I were to have children – on the weekend someone was stabbed to death a stone’s throw from my house.

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Farage ‘not mincing his words’

However, if we look at the statistics, it is invariably a more nuanced picture than Farage or social media might have us believe.

According to police reports, thefts from a person in London are almost five times the national average, and they’ve been going up since the pandemic.

And the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also notes that thefts outside of the home, eg phone snatching, has increased.

However, possession of weapons has fallen in London by 29% over the last three years.

And according to the ONS, crime in England and Wales is 30% lower than in 2015, and 76% lower than 1995.

And it is a similar picture for violent crime.

In short, am I right to be more worried that snatch theft and knife crime in London is increasing? Yes, and no.

But Nigel Farage is tapping into voters’ emotions – their feelings that the country is broken. It’s a picture the Conservative Party helped to create and the Labour Party happily painted to great effect during the general election campaign of 2024.

And the more politicians of all colours tell voters that “the system is broken”, the more voters might start to believe them.

That is what Nigel Farage is banking on.

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