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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Korea asks Interpol to issue Red Notice for Terra-Luna founder

Do Kwon speaks during an interview with crypto media outlet Coinage at his office in Singapore, Aug. 16. The interview was his last public appearance. Screenshot from Coinage's YouTube channelBy Lee Min-hyungKorean prosecutors have asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for Do Kwon, co-founder of the ill-fated Terra-Luna coins, saying that he is “obviously on the run” and seems unwilling to cooperate with the investigation. According to Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, the prosecution requested the international police and crime control authority to place Kwon on its Red Notice list. It will take more than 10 days until Interpol issues the notice. The Red Notice is the highest level of alert issued to police across the globe when a person is wanted from another country.Kwon did not respond immediately to the report. His exact whereabouts remain unknown. Earlier, he said on his Twitter account that he is not on the run. But prosecutors think otherwise, since Kwon has not revealed his whereabouts and has yet to appear before investigators, communicating only throu

Sep 20, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Korea asks Interpol to issue Red Notice for Terra-Luna founder

Fears of rate hikes hit crypto market despite Ethereum Merge upgrade

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Min-hyungFears of external monetary uncertainty are bringing jitters to the global crypto industry despite Ethereum's much-anticipated Merge upgrade, which many critics have considered a major turning point for revving up lukewarm crypto sentiment. The world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization completed Thursday the system upgrade with an environmentally friendly proof-of-stake mechanism. This upgrade raised hopes for the introduction of smarter contracts across the crypto industry, but there was little effect in terms of boosting its valuation on the market.According to data from crypto price tracker, CoinMarketCap, the price of Ethereum has been on the sharp decline for the past week. It was traded at around $1,750 as of Sept. 12, but plunged to $1,300 as of 2:30 p.m. Monday.The prices of other major cryptocurrencies also remained weak during the same period. Bitcoin was traded at around $22,300 last Monday, but failed to defend the $20,000 mark in a week, with its value tumbling down to $18,800 on Monday afternoon.This situation was cause

Sep 19, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Fears of rate hikes hit crypto market despite Ethereum Merge upgrade

Terraform founder Do Kwon 'obviously on the run,' prosecutors say

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon / Courtesy of CoinageKorean prosecutors said Sunday that Do Kwon, the wanted founder of Terraform Labs accused of fraud following the massive collapse of the firm's cryptocurrencies in May, is "obviously on the run" and not cooperating with the investigation.The remarks came in response to Kwon's claim in a tweet that "I am not 'on the run' or anything similar ― for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don't have anything to hide."On Saturday, Singapore police's statement said the Terraform founder and CEO is no longer in Singapore.The blockchain firm has been under investigation for alleged fraud and tax evasion after investors in its cryptocurrencies ― TerraUSD and Luna ― filed complaints against Kwon in May, accusing him of a Ponzi scheme over the loss of billions of won following the crash of both coins earlier that month. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office has recently had arrest warrants issued for Kwon and five others, including Terraform founding member Nicholas Platias, in e

Sep 18, 2022
Terraform founder Do Kwon 'obviously on the run,' prosecutors say
  • Do Kwon faces escalating criticism for vague comments on whereabouts

Do Kwon faces escalating criticism for vague comments on whereabouts

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon / Courtesy of Kwon's LinkedIn pageBy Lee Min-hyungDo Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, is drawing escalating criticism for making vague comments on his whereabouts without responding to a warrant prosecutors filed for his arrest.“I am not 'on the run' or anything similar ― for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don't have anything to hide,” he said on his Twitter, Sunday.The remarks came in response to Singapore Police Force's latest announcement that Kwon is not residing in the country. He was known to be in the city-state after having a face-to-face interview with crypto media outlet, Coinage, at his office there last month.At that time, he made it clear that he would cooperate with investigations by any authority amid mounting criticism after the stablecoin Terra and sister token Luna collapsed in May.Luna was one of the most promising cryptocurrencies until early this year when its value soared to the world's seventh highest. But its price plunged to a near-zero level in o

Sep 18, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Do Kwon faces escalating criticism for vague comments on whereabouts
  • Wanted crypto founder Do Kwon says 'not on the run'
  • Terraform founder Do Kwon 'obviously on the run,' prosecutors say

Upbit's developer conference set to attract thousands of experts

Dunamu's Upbit Developer Conference 2022 official homepage. Screen capture from Upbit Developer Conference homepageBy Lee Min-hyungUpbit, the nation's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is set to attract thousands of experts from Korea and abroad during its upcoming annual developer conference. The Upbit Developer Conference (UDC) 2022 will kick off its two-day run in the nation's southern port city of Busan on Sept. 22. Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, expects more than 3,000 people ― here and abroad ― to attend the event where a group of 50 officials from the blockchain industry will also deliver speeches on the latest digital trends.The event is one of the nation's largest annual blockchain conferences that will mark its fifth anniversary this year. Upbit has held the conference online for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the event went offline in 2022 in line with eased social distancing rules.Under the key theme of “Imagine your Blockchain Life,” this year's UDC will start with a welcome speech by Song Chi-hyung, co-founder and chairman of Dunamu

Sep 5, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Upbit's developer conference set to attract thousands of experts

Crypto exchanges suffer earnings falls amid rate hikes, freezing sentiment

From left are the Upbit logo displayed in front of Dunamu headquarters and Bithumb's customer service center in Seoul. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungKorea's cryptocurrency exchanges reported drastic earnings falls in the first half of this year, hit hard by freezing investor sentiment amid global monetary tightening.According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Dunamu reported 785 billion won in sales during the same period, down 61.3 percent from a year ago when the crypto investment boom reached its peak. Dunamu is the operator of the nation's largest crypto exchange, Upbit.The firm's net profit came in at 172.8 billion won, down 88.2 percent from a year ago. This was a combination of a 206.8 billion won net profit in the first quarter and a 34 billion won net loss in the second.The falling revenue is attributable to increasingly bearish investor sentiment in the crypto market after the U.S. Federal Reserve and global monetary authorities started their aggressive interest rate hikes. Even if most asset markets including stocks suffered big losses here and abroad, the cryp

Aug 31, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Crypto exchanges suffer earnings falls amid rate hikes, freezing sentiment

Will Coinone increase market share with KakaoBank?

Coinone's customer service center in Seoul / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungCoinone, the nation's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, is seeking a fresh breakthrough in a partnership with KakaoBank amid bearish market sentiment. Under the partnership, the internet-only bank will offer real-name accounts for Coinone users. The exchange aims to attract more investors, as Dunamu ― the operator of the largest crypto exchange here, Upbit ― did after clinching such a partnership with K bank, another first-generation internet bank here.Mobile banks have a competitive edge in their platforms, compared with conventional lenders, as the former offers an easier-to-use interface at a faster speed than traditional banks.Dunamu's partnership with K bank is considered one of the best bets that the exchange has made for the past few years on its way to becoming the nation's dominant exchange operator with a market share of almost 80 percent.Coinone appears to be following a similar path through the new partnership, but industry officials said it remains to be seen whether the company will be able to achie

Aug 30, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Will Coinone increase market share with KakaoBank?

Customs inspection turns up illegal cryptocurrency transactions worth $2 bil.

An official from Seoul Regional Customs speaks during a press briefing in Seoul, Tuesday. NewsisBy Anna J. ParkSeoul Regional Customs uncovered a total 2.7 trillion won ($2 billion) worth of illegal foreign exchange transactions related to cryptocurrency trading during its special inspections, the agency announced Wednesday. The special inspections focusing on cryptocurrency-related illegal foreign exchange transactions began in February. Most of the foreign exchange violations caught during the inspections were related to purchases of digital assets through overseas cryptocurrency exchanges.For instance, nearly half of the money ― or 1.3 trillion won ―- was found to be illegal remittances to overseas accounts, aiming for arbitrage opportunities on cryptocurrency exchanges. The funds were sent via commercial banks disguised as payment for trade businesses.Altogether 16 people were apprehended during the inspections. Two of them were referred to the prosecution, while seven were penalized. A further seven are still under investigation. “Foreign exchange transactions aiming to ta

Aug 30, 2022By Anna J. Park
Customs inspection turns up illegal cryptocurrency transactions worth $2 bil.

16 overseas crypto exchanges engage in illegal sales activities in Korea

The Korean website of MEXC, one of the largest crypto exchanges in China / Screenshot from MEXCBy Lee Min-hyungOverseas cryptocurrency exchanges are engaging in illegal sales activities here without reporting their businesses to financial watchdogs. According to the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, a total of 16 foreign crypto exchanges _ such as MEXC and KuCoin _ have allegedly violated the Financial Information Act by continuously operating their businesses without meeting the requirements to do so under the legal framework.Last year, the Financial Services Commission urged a group of 27 overseas exchanges to report their business before the act was to take effect on Sept. 25. The authority also notified them that they are not allowed to run their businesses unless they obide by the regulation.Some of them _ such as Binance _ closed down their Korean business in line with the regulatory guidelines. But another 16 exchanges turned out to continue generating profits here without doing so, according to the intelligence unit.The authority requested the Korea Communications Commission

Aug 25, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
16 overseas crypto exchanges engage in illegal sales activities in Korea

Bitcoin feared to hit bottom again amid Fed's hawkish pivot

Bitcoin's price movements over the last three months are seen in the graph above. Screenshot from CoinMarketCapBy Lee Min-hyungIt is feared that major cryptocurrencies might tumble to a new low this year again amid diminishing investor sentiment after the U.S. Fed reiterated its hawkish pivot. Prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum hit the bottom in June and have since shown signs of recovery on then-reviving sentiment, with investors now expecting the Fed to slow down the pace of monetary tightening.Bitcoin was traded at around $19,000 in mid-June but displayed resilience by bouncing back to over $24,000 last week. Ethereum also showed a similar price movement during the same period. The rally was driven by hopes that the U.S. monetary authority would gradually reduce its hawkish rhetoric as the year-end approaches.However, the momentum is losing steam amid reviving fears that the Fed might stay hawkish longer than expected after Fed officials reaffirmed its hawkish stance. This situation has raised the likelihood for the Fed to take another giant step of increasing its key rate by 75 basis

Aug 23, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bitcoin feared to hit bottom again amid Fed's hawkish pivot
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