There’s a crypto study out of South Korea recently of Chinese Bitcoin arbitrage traders and Korea’s “kimchi premium” on Bitcoin prices. Its characterization of the cross-border Bitcoin trade and recommendations miss some key economic foundations. A recently published crypto study by Incheon National University and the Bank of Korea is making the rounds. The authors...Read More
The National Tax Service (NTS) of South Korea has reportedly hit Bithumb Korea and Bithumb Holdings with a “special tax investigation” to determine whether the cryptocurrency platform has complied with domestic taxation laws. The officials have also probed Kang Jong-hyeon (rumored to be the actual owner of the exchange) and his sister – Kang Ji-yeon. ...Read More
The Seoul Central District Court reportedly ruled that the owner and former Chairman of the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange – Lee Jung-hoon – has not defrauded Kim Byung-gun for 112 billion won ($87.5 million). Had he been found guilty, he could have faced a prison sentence of up to eight years. The Court’s Final Word...Read More
The world’s largest crypto trading platform is reportedly close to completing the acquisition of Gopax – one of the most utilized Korean exchanges. If closed, the deal will signify Binance’s entrance into the South Korean market. Citing a report by a local media outlet, the popular blockchain journalist Colin Wu informed that Binance had “recently...Read More
South Korean authorities appear to have tightened their control over the digital asset space. As such, two high-ranking execs, named Mr.Yang and Mr. Oh of the fraudulent crypto exchange, V Global, were sentenced to eight years and three years, respectively, for their role in defrauding investors. V Global reportedly lured investors by promising 300% returns....Read More
The Vice President of Vidente, referred to as Mr. Park, was found dead in front of his house in southern Seoul. Vidente happens to be the largest shareholder of Bithumb Holdings Co., the firm behind the South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb. According to local news reports, Park was under investigation on charges of embezzlement and...Read More
The South Korean court has reportedly frozen 120 billion won (over $93 million) in assets belonging to executives of blockchain consultancy firm Kernel Labs. The entity is speculated to have had a hand in Terra’s collapse earlier this year while its CEO – Kim Hyun-Joong – served as Vice President of Engineering at Terraform Labs. ...Read More
It has been a tough year for algorithmic stablecoins. Historically, these pegged tokens have failed to maintain a grip on $1, especially under extreme selling pressure. But the Terra collapse has been disastrous, and the ripple effects have had a decisive impact on the rest of the market. Seven months later, another algorithmic stablecoin is...Read More
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office reportedly sought arrest warrants for one of Terraform Labs’ Co-Founders – Shin Hyun-seung (Daniel Shin), claiming he gained illegal profits before the colossal crash of LUNA/UST. The Korean authorities previously issued an arrest warrant against Terraform’s CEO – Do Kwon. His whereabouts remain unknown, while recent sources hinted he...Read More
According to the latest report, Dunamu’s sales declined by over 66% compared to the same period last year, in addition to its operating profit sliding by 76.6% and net profit by 72.7%. Moreover, the fintech firm’s sales and operating profit decreased by 24.1% and 39.3%, respectively, compared to the second quarter. Dunamu explained that the...Read More
On the heels of the Terra LUNA meltdown and the bankruptcy of FTX, authorities from South Korea are proposing new amendments to the Digital Assets Bill seeking greater control over cryptocurrency exchanges. Congressman Yoon Chang-Hyun is preparing an amendment to expand financial authorities’ control capabilities to prevent the repetition of events such as the FTX...Read More
On Nov. 20, crypto market data portal CoinGecko released a report on the countries most impacted by the FTX collapse. Unsurprisingly, most are in Asia since U.S. investors were using FTX.US, not the international exchange that melted down. The report is slightly misleading, however, as it ranked the top 30 countries by monthly users, not...Read More
South Korean prosecutors have seized more than $100 million worth of assets belonging to Shin Hyun-Seong (Daniel Shin), the co-founder of Terraform Labs, for his role in the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May. According to reports from local publication YTN, the court approved the prosecutor’s request to freeze 140 billion won ($104 million)...Read More
The notorious Co-Founder of Terraform Labs – Do Kwon – is said to be in Europe. He vowed to organize a conference soon and lift the curtain on his mysterious location. The South Korean, who is a primary target for Interpool, even invited law enforcement agents to participate in the event. Terra’s colossal crash in...Read More
South Korean prosecutors are pushing for an eight-year sentence for Lee Jung-hoon, the former chairman of crypto exchange platform Bithumb, for an alleged $70 million fraud. According to a report by the local media outlet Yonhap, prosecutors alleged that Lee had defrauded Kim Byung Gun, the chairman of Singapore-based BK Group, in a failed attempt...Read More
Hashed CEO and an early backer of the ill-fated LUNC token, Kim Seo-joon, failed to appear before a South Korean congressional inquiry into the crash. He cited “mental conditions” as the reason for his absence from South Korea’s National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, which he supposedly developed since the spectacular $40 billion wipeout in May...Read More
South Korea’s top monetary regulator – the Financial Service Commission (FSC) – thinks cryptocurrencies and stablecoins could facilitate money-laundering activities. As such, it will reportedly closely monitor the actions of the country’s largest crypto holders (those who own over $70,000 worth of digital assets). According to a local coverage, the Financial Intelligence Unit (a division...Read More
South Korean Prosecutors have confirmed that Do Kwon might have fled Singapore as he was believed to be in hiding there. In a text message on Thursday, reported by Bloomberg, they said reports suggesting that Kown flew to Dubai for a possible stopover before escaping to an unknown destination are “not false.” Hunt for Do...Read More
Singapore-based company Terraform Labs has stated that South Korean prosecutors exceeded the limits of their authority regarding the arrest warrant against the firm’s co-founder, Do Kwon. Terraform Labs also said that the Luna token is not a security, arguing that public pressure could have caused the prosecutors to amplify the definition of securities. South Korean...Read More
Hackers have reportedly attacked several big-name South Korean YouTube channels in the past few months. After gaining access, most wrongdoers used the platform to upload cryptocurrency-related videos. Among the victims was the official YouTube channel of the South Korean government. Earlier this month, a group of cybercriminals compromised it so they could promote a crypto...Read More
South Korean law enforcement officers have reportedly confiscated around 260 billion won ($183 million) worth of cryptocurrencies from local individuals and businesses in two years as they were not abiding by local taxation laws. Not long ago, the authorities targeted the notorious leader of Terraform Labs – Do Kwon. He was accused of gifting tokens...Read More
South Korean prosecutors have asked the country’s foreign ministry to revoke Do Kwon’s passport. They’ve also initiated the process to get Interpol to issue a red notice for Kwon, media reports said on Monday. These developments come close on the heels of Do Kown on Sunday claiming in a tweet that he was not on the run,...Read More
After reports emerged indicating that South Korean authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Terra’s co-founder, he finally broke the silence, claiming he is cooperating with several global watchdogs. At the same time, Singaporean police said Kwon is not in the city-state despite multi previous suggestions that he was hiding there. CryptoPotato reported earlier this...Read More
Just a day after reports emerged that the South Korean authorities had started yet another investigation against Terraform Labs, Bloomberg said a local court had issued an arrest warrant against Do Kwon and five others. The price of the two current native assets – LUNA and LUNC – dumped hard, as the former is down...Read More
The implosion of the South Korean stablecoin project Terra may have dented general sentiment towards the industry, but that has not stopped the second-largest city in the country from pursuing ambitious crypto and blockchain goals. Busan has announced a partnership with FTX to build blockchain-powered business solutions in the coming months. As part of the...Read More
Yong-beom Kim – First Vice Minister of South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance from 2019 to 2021 – will join the blockchain and digital technology research institute Hashed Open Research as its Chief Executive Officer. The entity aims to act as a bridge between local cryptocurrency experts and the government. According to a document...Read More
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance of the South Korean government has said that virtual asset airdrops are subject to gift tax as per existing tax laws. Gift tax has to be paid when free virtual assets with economic value are paid out, media reports said. Gift Tax on Airdrops Recently, the South Korean finance...Read More
South Korean securities companies have reportedly set their focus on the crypto industry and plan to set up digital asset exchanges in the first half of 2023. Such firms include Mirae Asset Securities and Samsung Securities. The domestic financial regulators have been quite strict with crypto-related entities in the past few years. Last year, prompted...Read More
South Korea’s financial sector regulator Financial Services Commission (FSC), is planning to stop domestic access to foreign crypto exchanges that are not registered in the country. These trading platforms have been asked to obtain proper licenses by September 24. Failing to do so will instantly result in the blocking of their websites. Also, users who...Read More
South Korea’s integrated financial regulator – Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) – is reportedly investigating domestic and commercial banks after detecting a significant amount of illegal overseas remittance transactions. Over the last few weeks, banks’ role in facilitating kimchi premium traders to enable fast money when trading volumes rise has been under intense scrutiny. It was...Read More
