South Korea is blocking access to the websites of 27 unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges, including KuCoin, BitMart and MEXC, extending its crackdown on foreign trading platforms beyond mobile apps.
The country's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) announced on Tuesday that the Korea Communications Standards Commission approved the restrictions following reviews conducted on Oct. 6 and 7. Websites operated from overseas will be blocked, while those operating domestically face service termination, the FIU said.
The move closes another route for South Korean investors to access unregistered exchanges, after authorities restricted access to their mobile apps on Google and Apple last year. Regulators can now seek website blocks as soon as they detect unregistered activity, without waiting for a court ruling or evidence that customers have lost money.
The FIU did not specify how long the restrictions will last or set a deadline for the exchanges to register. Any exchange seeking to legally operate in the country and serve South Korean customers must register with the FIU and meet its security and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
A KuCoin spokesperson said: "We respect applicable laws and regulations across jurisdictions and continuously strengthen our compliance framework in response to evolving regulatory requirements," adding that "user assets remain safe and secure, and we will communicate any further updates through our official channels." BitMart, Phemex and MEXC did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for comment.
