South Korea to mandate 5-minute balance checks for crypto exchanges

South Korean financial authorities are overhauling user asset management systems for won-denominated crypto exchanges, Financial News reported. The move follows a February incident at South Korean exchange Bithumb where 62 trillion won in Bitcoin was mistakenly disbursed, which regulators believe exposed weaknesses in internal controls. Under the new measures, all exchanges offering won trading pairs will be required to reconcile their digital ledgers with their wallet balances every five minutes. The plan also includes provisions for immediately halting trading in the event of an incident. The details were announced by Shin Jin-chang, Secretary-General of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission, during a meeting with the virtual asset industry on April 6.