my timesThe Korea Times
Economy

Cryptocurrency

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Authorities to ban access to unauthorized foreign crypto exchanges

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkThe Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) has urged caution on the part of local clients of overseas cryptocurrency exchanges to verify whether they have been registered under the Korean financial authority. The KoFIU announced a total of 16 virtual asset service providers (VASPs) on Thursday, which had failed to register themselves with the financial authority, and are thus considered illegal business operators in Korea. The cryptocurrency exchanges include KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Bitrue, ZB.com, Bitglobal, CoinW, CoinEX, AAX, ZoomEX, Poloniex, BTCEX, BTCC, DigiFinex and Pionex.The KoFIU said it had notified the investigative authority about the crypto exchanges' illegal business activities targeting Korean users by offering Korean-language services. The financial regulator added that it requested the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block the firms' website access to local users to prevent their unregistered business activities in Korea. Back in July of last year, the KoFIU notified foreign-

Aug 18, 2022By Anna J. Park
Authorities to ban access to unauthorized foreign crypto exchanges

FIU requests probe into 16 foreign digital asset exchange operators for unreported biz activities

Getty Images KoreaSouth Korea's financial watchdog said Thursday it has asked law enforcement authorities to investigate 16 foreign digital asset exchange operators for their unreported business activities.Those operators subject to investigation include MEXC, KuCoin, Phemex, XT.com, Bitrue, ZB.com, Bitglobal and CoinW, according to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an agency tasked with tracking unlawful financial activities under the Financial Services Commission (FSC).They are accused of operating Korean-language webpages, carrying out promotion campaigns and providing support for customers to buy digital assets with their credit cards without reporting to authorities, the FIU said.In July last year, the FIU asked all offshore digital asset operators to report their plans to launch businesses here as stipulated by a relevant law, but the 16 operators have not complied with the request, it added.Their violations will be informed to financial watchdogs in countries where those operators are based, it added.Those involved in such unreported operations in South Korea could face u

Aug 18, 2022
FIU requests probe into 16 foreign digital asset exchange operators for unreported biz activities

Bitcoin's role expected to expand as investors circumvent capital controls: Bithumb research chief

Lee Mi-seon, chief of Bithumb's Research Center, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times, at its headquarters in Seoul, Aug. 8. Courtesy of Bithumb Bitcoin will recover to previous high in latter half of 2023By Lee Min-hyungMore people will have a stronger interest in Bitcoin and other forms of commodity-backed currencies, as the United States has been gesturing that it wishes gradually to lessen its role as “the world's police,” a crypto expert based in Seoul said.“As was shown in the war between Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. has strategically shifted its long-standing position by reducing its involvement in geopolitical conflicts with other countries, which means the probability of more physical conflict occurring across the globe has increased,” Lee Mi-seon, chief of Bithumb's Research Center, told The Korea Times in an interview on Aug. 8.Lee worked as a bond market analyst for more than a decade before moving to the nation's second-largest crypto exchang

Aug 17, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bitcoin's role expected to expand as investors circumvent capital controls: Bithumb research chief

Do Kwon says he will cooperate with investigation

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon speaks during an interview with crypto media outlet Coinage in a video uploaded on YouTube, Tuesday. Screenshot from YouTubeBy Lee Min-hyungDo Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, has shared his plan to cooperate with the ongoing investigation by the Korean prosecution, but declined to confirm when it will be, citing no charges have been brought against him over the collapse of the Terra-Luna cryptocurrencies. Kwon has made no public appearances since the Terra stablecoin and its sister token plummeted in May, but appeared Tuesday in a video-taped interview with overseas crypto media outlet, Coinage.As the once-red hot Terra ecosystem abruptly lost trust from investors around the globe, a group of Luna investors here sued Kwon and Daniel Shin, another co-founder of the company, for fraud.In response, the prosecution has since launched an investigation into the incident and summoned officials from Terraform Labs for questioning. Last month, the joint investigation team also raided Shin's home and the headquarters of Korea's major crypto exchanges.K

Aug 16, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Do Kwon says he will cooperate with investigation

Ethereum founder expects crypto payments to become prevalent soon

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin delivers a speech during the Korea Blockchain Week 2022 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, Monday. The annual event will last for two days both in Seoul and Busan. YonhapCrypto moguls share blockchain outlook at Asia's largest fairBy Lee Min-hyungCryptocurrency moguls here and abroad shared their vision on blockchain technology during Asia's largest fair which kicked off its two-day run in Seoul, Monday. The Korea Blockchain Week 2022, co-hosted by FactBlock and Hashed, is an annual event that has taken place since 2018. For this year, a group of crypto magnates, such as Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, joined the fair and expressed their ideas on the future of blockchain.Leaders and officials from game, venture capital firms and blockchain-centered platform operators ― such as non-fungible tokens (NFT) ― brought up a broad range of topics on the next big things regarding blockchain.The Ethereum blockchain founder delivered a keynote speech and shared its next mainstream growth strategy. He expects more people

Aug 8, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Ethereum founder expects crypto payments to become prevalent soon

Dunamu to support youths who have to leave foster care centers

gettyimagesbankBy Yoon Ja-youngUnderprivileged children and minors who have been living in foster care facilities, foster homes, or other shelters for teenagers face a harsh reality when they come of age. They have to leave such facilities and stand on their own when they reach 18, according to the Child Welfare Act. But because they do not have homes to reside in or stable jobs, they often suffer economic hardships and sometimes fall prey to criminals.Dunamu, the operator of the country's top cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, announced that it will support such youths by setting up a 3 billion won fund ($2.3 million) for the next five years as well as operating an internship program. “They should not stand by themselves. They should stand with us. We will not spare any interest and support so that those young people leaving shelters can assimilate as healthy members of society,” Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo said.Around 2,500 young people have to leave foster care facilities each year when they reach 18 and they are provided only 300,000 won in monthly subsidies from the governmen

Jul 30, 2022By Yoon Ja-young
Dunamu to support youths who have to leave foster care centers

Top management's legal issues weigh on Bithumb sale

The logo of Bithumb is seen in this file photo. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungFTX's planned acquisition of Bithumb, the second-largest crypto exchange in Korea, is expected to hit a snag due to ongoing legal issues surrounding the exchange's top management. Lee Jung-hoon, the former chairman of Bithumb Holdings, is on trial for charges of fraud after BK Group dropped its plans to acquire the crypto exchange. According to the prosecution, Lee allegedly took $100 million from BK Group Chairman Kim Byung-gun, who is a plastic surgeon, in exchange for the joint management of Bithumb and the promise to issue a new coin at the exchange.The single-largest shareholder of Bithumb's parent company is Vidente. The Kosdaq-listed company has a 34.22-percent stake in Bithumb Holdings.But Lee is seen by many as the de facto owner of Bithumb, considering all of the stakes linked to him. Lee has secured more than a 60-percent stake in Bithumb Holdings by means of DAA, a company he is known

Jul 27, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Top management's legal issues weigh on Bithumb sale

Crypto exchanges lay low as prosecution escalates probe into Luna saga

The logo of Upbit is displayed in front of its headquarters in Seoul, July 20, when the prosecution launched an investigation into local crypto exchanges. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungCryptocurrency exchanges here are keeping a low profile as the prosecution intensifies its investigation into their trading records on the ill-fated stablecoin Terra and its sister token Luna. The probe was targeted on Korea's seven main crypto exchanges including Upbit and Bithumb. The prosecution searched their headquarters for three days from July 20 to seize their trading records of the two controversial coins that saw their values plummet abruptly in May.Dumanu, the operator of the nation's largest exchange Upbit, is at the center of the investigation, as Dunamu & Partners ― the investment arm of Dunamu ― acquired 20 million Luna coins in 2018 and sold them all of them in February 2021. The company generated a profit of 130 billion won by trading Luna.But Dunamu and other exchanges argu

Jul 25, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Crypto exchanges lay low as prosecution escalates probe into Luna saga

FTX's reported acquisition of Bithumb boosts crypto stocks

The logo of Bithumb, the nation's second-largest crypto exchange, is seen in front of its customer service center in Seoul. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungShares of Vidente, the largest shareholder of Bithumb, soared by around 30 percent Monday amid FTX's reported plan to take over the Korean crypto exchange operator.Vidente is the largest shareholder of Bithumb Holdings with a 34.22 percent stake. The company's stock closed with an eye-catching gain of 29.77 percent, or 2,730 won on the tech-heavy Kosdaq.The company can exercise its right to appoint Bithumb's board of directors. If FTX, a U.S.-based crypto exchange, possibly ends a race to acquire Korea's second-largest crypto exchange operator, Vidente is also forecast to receive massive financial benefits.Last week, an overseas news report said that FTX is “in advanced talks” to take over Bithumb.A spokesman at Bithumb declined to disclose more details.“We cannot confirm anything over the report or whether both sides are

Jul 25, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
FTX's reported acquisition of Bithumb boosts crypto stocks

Bitcoin inches down ahead of Fed's rate hikes

A real-time price chart for Bitcoin between July 23 and 24 / Screenshot from CoinMarketCap By Lee Min-hyung U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell / AP-Yonhap Bitcoin has extended a slight loss ahead of a possible giant rate hike of 75 basis points by the U.S. Fed this week, with investors remaining cautious due to fears concerning the after-effects of the hawkish move. The price of Bitcoin fell by more than 1 percent as of 2 p.m. Sunday from a day earlier. The world's largest cryptocurrency was traded at around $22,700, showing no clear signs of a rebound. Ethereum also lost ground. The two major cryptocurrencies have been trapped in a boxed-in range after their values steeply tumbled following May due to freezing market sentiment caused by the Fed's rate hikes.The weak performance was attributable to heightened financial uncertainty as the July 26-27 Federal

Jul 24, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bitcoin inches down ahead of Fed's rate hikes
previous page
3839404142
next page

Most Read in Economy