South Korea to expand tracking of crypto-linked criminal funds off exchanges

South Korea is moving to strengthen its ability to trace criminal funds converted into cryptocurrencies even after they pass through multiple exchanges and are moved to digital wallets, the Seoul Shinmun reported. According to the report, citing financial industry sources, the Financial Intelligence Unit under South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is seeking to adopt blockchain firm Chainalysis’ on-chain data solution. The Financial Services Commission has reported to the National Assembly a plan to allocate 1.93 billion won for the project. An FIU official said authorities had previously focused mainly on points where virtual assets entered financial companies or were converted into cash, but will now step up detection across the movement of assets within the blockchain after they are converted into cryptocurrencies.