South Korea’s "Kimchi premium" has flipped to a discount again, meaning cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are now cheaper to buy on South Korean exchanges. The phenomenon is named after the Korean dish kimchi. The Kimchi premium refers to when the price of Bitcoin (BTC) trades higher on South Korean exchanges than in other markets. According to data from blockchain analytics provider CryptoQuant, the Korea Premium index has been shifting between the -0.24 and 0.01 range between Feb 17 and 19. As of writing, data on CoinMarketCap shows BTC is trading at roughly $24,464 on Coinbase and $24,487 on Binance. In …

South Korean prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for the former CEO of Tmon, a Korean e-commerce platform, after taking billions of won in LUNA (LUNA), now known as LUNA Classic (LUNC), for promoting Terra as a simple payment gateway. Seoul prosecutors requested an arrest warrant on the former CEO of ecommerce giant Tmon for allegedly receiving bribery from Terra cofounder Daniel Shin in exchange for promoting Terra as a payment method, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office confirmed with me via text. — Danny Kunwoong Park (@ParkKunwoong) February 15, 2023 Media outlet Dong-A Ilbo reported that the head of …

As reported by a local publication on Feb. 15, Korean financial authorities are looking into the staking services market. However, as the unnamed official specified to the journalists: The fears of the crypto community about the possible repercussions of the recent court deal between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Kraken are starting to materialize. Following their American counterparts, South Korean regulators intend to examine the crypto-staking operators in the country. “The position is that there is nothing to be a problem because nothing has been done.” No details on the timeline and methods of the examination …

Last week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached an agreement with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The latter will stop offering crypto staking services to American customers and pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. While the sum of fines could hardly get an entity like Kraken off balance, the future of staking concerns the crypto market. The court agreement attracted the ire of not only the general crypto community but of investors, politicians and industry executives, with Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran calling SEC Chair Gary Gensler “an agent of an anti-crypto agenda” rather than …

South Korea announced its first independent sanctions related to cryptocurrency thefts and cyber attacks against certain North Korean groups and individuals. According to Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, four North Korean individuals and seven businesses have been placed on a blacklist for their alleged involvement in cyberattacks and cryptocurrency theft, reported a local daily. The blacklisted individuals include the infamous Park Jin-hyok, Jo Myong-rae, Song Rim and Oh Chung-seong. The most notorious of the four hackers, Park, works in information technology for the Chosun Expo Joint Venture, a front company connected to the Lazarus Group in North Korea. He is …

The hunt for the controversial founder of the now-collapsed Terra ecosystem, Do Kwon, has intensified with South Korean officials reportedly confirming they sent at least two people to Serbia to track him down. According to a Feb. 7 Bloomberg report, the prosecutor’s office in Seoul said the reports “aren’t false” regarding members of its team trekking out to the Balkan state to find Kwon. It appears at least two state officials went — one from the prosecutor's office and the other being a senior member of South Korea’s Justice Ministry. South Korean-based publication Chosun Media confirmed on Dec. 11 that …

South Korea established guidance that specifies which types of digital assets will be considered and regulated as securities in the country. In a press release, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) highlighted that digital assets that fit the characteristics laid out in the country’s Capital Markets Act will be treated as securities. This law considers securities as financial investments where investors are not required to make additional payments after their original investments. In addition, the FSC also provided examples of which digital assets will most likely be classified as securities. According to the FSC, this may include tokens that provide a …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance is coming back to South Korea with a new acquisition of the local crypto trading platform Gopax. Binance has acquired a majority stake in the troubled crypto exchange Gopax, re-entering South Korea after exiting the market two years ago, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 3. The funding for the transaction reportedly came from a Finance-initiated investment project known as the Industry Recovery Initiative, to which Binance pledged $1 billion. Binance chief business officer Yibo Ling said that Binance has acquired a “meaningful” equity position at Gopax without disclosing the terms of the deal. The acquisition comes a …

The suspected real owner of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Bithumb has been arrested on alleged embezzlement charges on Feb. 2 local time. According to local media reports, Kang Jong-hyun was arrested on charges of alleged embezzlement. The Seoul Southern District Court issued an arrest warrant for the businessman on Jan. 25 with multiple charges, including dereliction of duty, market manipulation, and fraudulent transactions. The 41-year-old is the elder brother of Kang Ji-yeon, the head of Bithumb affiliate Inbiogen. The firm holds the largest share in Vidente Vidente, which is the biggest shareholder of Bithumb with a 34.2% stake. According …

Even though this winter continues to stress test the case for Bitcoin (BTC) advocation, some lawmakers strive to put their names on the crypto hot list among the likes of United States Senators Cynthia Lummis and Pat Toomey. State Senator Wendy Rogers, 68, introduced two bold bills in the Arizona legislature. One focuses on making BTC legal tender in the U.S. state. If passed into law, BTC will have the same status as the U.S. dollar, becoming an accepted medium of exchange for debt payment, public charges, taxes and dues in the state. The bill is not Rogers’ first attempt …

The Ministry of Justice in South Korea announced plans to introduce a crypto tracking system to counter money laundering initiatives and recover funds linked to criminal activities. The ‘Virtual Currency Tracking System’ will be used to monitor transaction history, extract information related to transactions and check the source of funds before and after remittance, according to local media outlet khgames. The South Korean Ministry of Justice will introduce a "cryptocurrency tracking system" in the first half of this year to strengthen the tracking of money laundering and recovery of criminal proceeds using cryptocurrencies. https://t.co/2CLkaLUrX6 — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 29, …

According to local news outlet infomax.co.kr, South Korean prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant on Jan.25 for Kang Jong-Hyun, chairman and actual owner of cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. Jong-Hyun is wanted on allegations of embezzlement related to his activities at the exchange. The same day, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office Financial Investigation 2nd Division sentenced Kang and two Bithumb executives on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The executives were also charged with conducting fraudulent illegal transactions under the Capital Markets Act. Cointelegraph previously reported on Jan. 10 …