As a seasoned crypto investor with a decade of experience under my belt, I’ve witnessed numerous ups and downs in this volatile market. The recent shutdown of more than a dozen crypto exchanges in South Korea has left me with a familiar sense of unease and frustration. I remember the days when Mt. Gox collapsed, leaving countless investors high and dry, and now history seems to be repeating itself.
Approximately 15 cryptocurrency trading platforms based in South Korea have shut down or paused their services during the year 2024, resulting in around 34,000 users being unable to claim assets worth approximately $13 million.
2024 saw over a dozen cryptocurrency exchanges cease operations in South Korea as they struggled to comply with the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, resulting in approximately $12.8 million (17.8 billion won) of user assets becoming inaccessible.
Based on information from the Financial Services Commission, it appears that 11 trading platforms have permanently closed down, and an additional 3 are currently paused, as reported by The Korea Times, during late September.
Approximately 34,000 individuals who own cryptocurrency are currently attempting to recover both their cash and digital currency from shuttered exchanges that collectively possess a total of approximately 17.8 billion won. This amount is further broken down into around 1.41 billion won in liquid assets and roughly 16.4 billion won in cryptocurrencies, according to the report.
In late 2023, the now-defunct South Korean crypto exchange Cashierest amassed the most customer assets, totaling approximately 13 billion won, with ProBit coming in second at 2.25 billion won and HTX (formerly Huobi) holding 579 million won. However, about 30.7 billion won is currently inaccessible as Oasis, Flata Exchange, and Btrade have temporarily suspended operations, with Oasis holding the largest share at 16.2 billion won, followed by Flata Exchange with 14.35 billion won, and Btrade having 80 million won.
Representative Kang Min-kuk from the People Power Party stated that it’s probable that additional trading platforms might halt or pause their operations during the current review process by the Financial Services Commission, given the market downturn and increasing regulatory compliance costs. Even though financial authorities have provided guidelines for the return of user assets, successfully recovering all remaining funds could prove difficult, Kang acknowledged.
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2024-10-24 14:31