[Korea View] Upbit’s 3-Month Ban Shocks Crypto
Upbit’s 3-Month Ban Shocks Crypto
Investors in Turmoil
A few days ago, my friend called me in a panic. He had just learned that Upbit, Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, faced a partial three-month suspension. Since most of his Bitcoin trades were made through Upbit, he was understandably worried about what this meant for his investments. “How could something like this happen to the top exchange?” he wondered.
According to recent reports from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the decision came after uncovering violations such as failures in identity verification, reporting suspicious transactions, and adhering to proper transaction restrictions. One stark example was a pencil-drawn ID card that somehow passed Upbit’s verification system. Over the last three years, more than 34,000 deficient ID checks were flagged. Furthermore, Upbit supported over 44,000 transactions with 19 unregistered overseas exchanges—an alarming find in terms of potential money laundering.
In response, FIU imposed a three-month partial suspension on new users’ ability to move cryptocurrencies off the platform. The exchange’s operator, Dunamu, issued a statement acknowledging the seriousness of the situation and pledged to strengthen their compliance measures. While current and new users can still trade within Upbit, the temporary restriction on external transfers underscores how critical regulatory compliance has become in the crypto market.
For everyday investors like my friend, this incident highlights a crucial lesson: transparency and security are the foundation of any financial platform’s trustworthiness. Even industry leaders cannot afford to neglect basic responsibilities such as authenticating user identities or properly reporting suspicious transactions. The global crypto community will be watching to see how Upbit regains public confidence—and whether tighter oversight will ultimately lead to a safer trading environment.
(This article was created with the help of AI.)
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