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Korean Financial Regulator to Inspect Non-Fiat Crypto Trading Platform

Policy & Regulation·April 07, 2023, 9:33 AM

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to launch a comprehensive inspection on crypto trading platform Fobl (previously known as Foblgate) from March 11.

Korean pagoda in the park
©Pexels/김 대정

Unlike other major Korean crypto exchanges, such as Upbit or Bithumb, which allow trading between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies, Fobl only offers trading between cryptocurrencies.

 

Inspection on non-fiat exchanges

The FIU’s inspection of Fobl is a follow-up to the regulator’s inspection of GDAC, another Korean non-fiat crypto exchange. This suggests that the FIU will focus on inspecting non-fiat exchanges in the first half of this year.

Many in the cryptocurrency industry have been paying attention to the FIU’s move after its first inspection of GDAC, as it could signal the direction in which the regulator would take. Earlier this year, the FIU announced that it would conduct inspections not only on non-fiat crypto exchanges but also on wallet solutions, custodians, and staking service providers. It is known that the FIU has been reviewing anti-money laundering (AML) systems and asset management statuses of these crypto enterprises.

 

Fobl’s possible addition of fiat trading

The Korean crypto industry suspects Fobl might transform itself into a fiat crypto exchange, considering the FIU’s notice that it will prioritize examining non-fiat exchanges that are preparing to support fiat trading.

 

Fobl CEO’s take on the market

Prior to this news, Fobl CEO Ahn Hyun-joon said in a recent interview with Etnews that the platform is in talks with multiple banks to acquire real-name bank accounts and is complying with all the regulations required by the authorities. During the interview, he also raised concerns about the uncertainty that faces non-fiat crypto trading platforms, pointing out that 97% of the crypto trading in Korea is being carried out in crypto exchanges that support trading of Korean won.

In Korea, the financial regulator requires virtual asset service providers (VASPs) offering trading in Korean won to hold real-name registered accounts at domestic banks as a measure to prevent money laundering.

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