Crypto Exchange Bitfront Announced End Of Korean Services Ahead Of Tight New Regulations

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US-based crypto trading platform Bitfront will halt services in South Korea before tougher industry rules are enforced in September, Korean media reported. The exchange, a subsidiary of Japanese tech giant Line, is currently available to Korean traders.

Line’s Bitfront Exchange to Cease Services for Korean Cryptocurrency Traders

With stricter regulations on the horizon, the Bitfront digital asset exchange would join platforms that are considering exiting from the South Korean cryptocurrency market. The U.S.-registered entity, which was set up by Japanese messaging apps company Line, will limit its services in the country next month, Korean media have revealed.

According to Yonhap, the exchange will stop providing service in Korean in mid-September. “Citing the stricter regulations, Bitfront also said it will stop payments with Korean credit cards on September 14,” the news agency detailed in a report on foreign crypto exchanges “seeking to move away.” from South Korea before the upcoming changes.

Bitfront will end its Korean-language marketing activities through social media channels such as “Facebook, Telegram and Line for its Korean customers this month,” the Korea Economy Daily added, citing industry sources on Tuesday. As of this writing, the Bitfront website is still available in Korean.

Foreign Crypto Exchanges Leaving South Korea Due To Regulatory Changes

The stricter rules, introduced with the revised law on special funds which entered into force on March 25, will be implemented in September after a six-month grace period. They require cryptocurrency trading platforms to register with Korea’s anti-money laundering body, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), by September 24 and cooperate with national banks to issuance of accounts in real name. Non-compliance can lead to blocking of access, penalties, or even criminal prosecution.

In July, the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) warned more than two dozen exchanges targeting Korean nationals. Smaller and overseas-based exchanges have struggled to partner with a local banking institution as Korean banks fear exposure to money laundering, fraud and other risks associated with cryptography. As of September 25, exchanges will be prohibited from withdrawing money for cryptocurrency trading if they have not set up real name bank accounts, Yonhap noted.

Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, announced last week that it was ending the offering of a number of products and services in South Korea. The move, announced on Friday, involves discontinuing Korean won trading pairs and payment options as well as peer-to-peer (P2P) trading applications and Korean language support. Another overseas digital asset exchange, FTX Trading, on Wednesday removed Korean from the language options available on its website.

What are your expectations for the future of the crypto trading market in South Korea? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Tags in this story Bitfront, Compliance, credit cards, Crypto, crypto exchange, crypto exchanges, crypto trading, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency, Digital assets, Exchange, Exchanges, korea, korean, korean language, korean won, products, real name accounts, registration, regulations, rules, services, south korea, south korean, trade

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