South Korea Moves to Block Access to 27 Unregistered Crypto Exchanges

South Korea is moving to block domestic access to 27 unregistered overseas crypto exchanges targeting local users, expanding restrictions previously imposed on their mobile applications.

The Financial Intelligence Unit said Oct. 13 that the Korea Communications Standards Commission decided to apply website access-blocking or service-termination measures to the platforms. The exchanges include KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Bitrue, CoinW, Poloniex, BTCC, BingX and BitMart.

The measures extend earlier limits on downloading and updating the exchanges’ applications through Google Play and Apple’s App Store. The FIU also plans to block alternative domains used by the platforms to bypass the restrictions.

The agency has referred 44 unregistered virtual asset service providers to investigative authorities. The action adds another layer of enforcement for overseas crypto platforms operating without registration while serving users in South Korea.