South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Upbit has temporarily halted the ‘three-month partial suspension of operations’.
As per local media reports, the Seoul Administrative Court decided on March 26th to grant a request by Dunamu, the company behind Upbit, to pause the suspension while the court reviews the main lawsuit. This means Upbit will not face the suspension until the court gives its final ruling, which could take up to 30 days after the main lawsuit is decided.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had previously imposed the suspension for Upbit, accusing the exchange of allowing transactions with unreported overseas crypto exchanges and failing to verify customer identities. The FIU also gave warnings to Upbit’s executives and fired some compliance officers. Dunamu filed a lawsuit to cancel this suspension and asked the court to temporarily stop it until the lawsuit is decided.
South Korea is closely monitoring cryptocurrency exchanges that are violating regulatory rules. Recently, the country’s regulatory authorities blocked access to 17 foreign crypto exchange apps on Google Play for operating without proper registration. These include KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT, CoinEx, BitMart, and Poloniex.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has also issued a warning, stating that operators of unregistered exchanges could face legal consequences, including up to five years in prison or fines of up to 50 million won i.e., about $34,150.
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