The raids came as a local lawmaker stepped down from politics amid accusations of allegedly selling millions in cryptocurrency before new laws were enforced.
Čítaj viac
The APE/BTC trading pair reached an all-time high of around $90 apiece on the exchange.
Čítaj viac
A South Korean town near Seoul has been successfully operating a pilot program that allows police to seize crypto from the exchange accounts of individuals with delinquent traffic fines.Gunpo, a city of about 275,000 in the northwestern Gyeonggi province was selected by the national government to execute the pilot program in 2022 which an Aug. 16 report from the JoongBoo Ilbo news outlet stated was a way to collect delinquent funds in an “untact,” or contactless fashion.The program appears to have been successful, at least in the first half of 2022, with Gunpo police achieving an 88% collection rate on traffic fines amounting to $668,000, putting the city on pace to vastly exceed its goal of chasing $759,000 in traffic fines by the end of the year.However, the trial only saw delinquent fines totaling an excess of about $759 by an individual subject to crypto seizures by the police, while crypto seizures were only a measure taken if the funds in the individual’s bank accounts have already been exhausted. Related: Do Kwon reportedly hires lawyers in S. Korea to prepare for Terra investigationJungo Ilbo reported that the fines collected through the first half already exceed the total annual collections over each of the past three years.The Korean crypto market is a lucrative one for law enforcement to extract fines from as it grew to $45.9 billion in 2021, though the report did not state which crypto would be seized and sold to pay fines.
Čítaj viac
The operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, Dunamu, is facing pushback from regulators due to a controversial investment while authorities move to issue restrictions to stifle its monopolistic position.Dunamu’s total assets are valued at over over 10 trillion KRW ($8.06 billion) and Upbit controls an overwhelming 80% of the domestic trading volume. As a result, regulators see Dunamu and by extension Upbit, as a monopoly with too much power that should be curtailed.Regulators could prevent its growth by designating it a large corporation which would restrict its market activities.Large corporations and investment firms in South Korea are subject to strict rules on what information they can share regarding investments under the Capital Markets Act. Corporations and their subsidiaries are prohibited from promoting investments, especially those they own or are related to.Dunamu has been criticized for taking advantage of an apparent loophole in the country’s Capital Markets Act by holding a 40% stake in market tracking firm Triger which started offering crypto-related investment recommendations in March. Dunamu has since dumped its shares in the company. A representative from Upbit told local news outlet Culture Journal on April 19 that it had dropped all of its subsidiary holdings of Triger, but has still asked the site to take down its crypto-related content. The rep stated:“We have requested the termination of the service to prevent unnecessary misunderstanding.”Dunamu straddles the line between a large corporation and a financial investment firm under Korean law. Therefore, the firm is technically allowed to promote investments under the Capital Markets Act. However, Culture Journal reported that an industry insider pointed to such promotional content as a regulatory loophole which “should be revised to improve the situation.”Related: Why NFT adoption is so high in South KoreaThe firm’s standing as a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) is reportedly likely to change in the near future. Local news source NoCut News reported on April 20 that the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) was seriously considering designating Dunamu as a large corporation partially as a result of its recent activities and for its sheer size.
Čítaj viac
Dunamu, the operator of major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, is progressing with blockchain development as its blockchain arm Lambda256 secured new funding.According to a Dec. 15 announcement, Lambda256 raised 70 billion Korean won ($60 million) in a Series B round, valuing the company at over $300 million. The firm is focused on enterprise-grade chains for businesses, building on its own blockchain protocol called Luniverse.The funding round included major venture capital firms and individual investors like tech giant Hanhwa Systems, travel tech startup Yanolja, bikes manufacturer Daelim, DSC Investments, Shinhan Venture Capital, KB Investments and SBI Investments. Dunamu participated in the round as well.Some of the new investors, such as Daelim and SBI Investments, are clients or partners of Lambda256 for a number of solutions including a blockchain-based decentralized identity management system, Luniverse nonfungible tokens (NFT) and Luniverse’s blockchain consortium chain.The new funding will help Lambda256 further expand its Blockchain-as-a-Service products. “With the funding, we’re on a clear path to diversifying talent pools and accelerating our blockchain roadmap into various global ecosystems,” Lambda256 CEO Jay Jaehyun Park said.Lambda256 is a sister firm of Upbit, one of the largest crypto exchanges in South Korea, with a total daily trading volume of $4 billion, according to CoinGecko.Related: Korea’s FSC confirms that NFTs will not be regulatedLambda256 implemented its proprietary NFT technology for Upbit NFT, the crypto exchange’s NFT marketplace platform launched in November 2021. Earlier this week, Dunamu CEO Lee Sirg-oo reportedly announced global expansion ambitions, particularly referring to its joint NFT venture with South Korean entertainment company HYBE.In August 2021, Lambda256 aso launched VerifyVASP, a regulatory compliant solution targeting virtual asset service providers to ensure data integrity in compliance with the “Travel Rule,” Anti-Money Laundering regulations by Financial Action Task Force.
Čítaj viac
