Coin Market

South Korea temporarily lifts Upbit’s 3-month ban on serving new clients

Published

6 days ago

March 27, 2025

A South Korean court temporarily lifted the partial business suspension on crypto exchange Upbit that had prohibited the trading platform from servicing new clients for three months.

On Feb. 25, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) sanctioned the exchange, imposing a three-month ban on deposits and withdrawals for new clients. The FIU previously said the suspension was in response to Upbit’s violations of policies that prohibit exchanges from transacting with unregistered virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

In response to the FIU’s sanction, Upbit’s parent company, Dunamu, filed a lawsuit against the FIU, seeking to overturn the partial suspension order. In addition, Dunamu requested an injunction to temporarily lift the suspension order.

On March 27, local media Newsis reported that the court granted the injunction, moving the suspension order 30 days after a court judgment is reached. This allows Upbit to service new clients while the legal battle continues.

Upbit investigations led to a 3-month suspension order

Founded in 2017, Upbit is South Korea’s largest crypto exchange. On Oct. 10, the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) initiated an investigation into Upbit for potential breaches of the country’s anti-monopoly laws.

In addition to anti-monopoly breaches, the exchange is suspected of violating Know Your Customer (KYC) rules. On Nov. 15, the FIU identified up at least 500,000 to 600,000 potential KYC violations of the exchange. The regulator spotted alleged breaches while reviewing the exchange’s business license renewal.

In 2018, South Korean regulators ended anonymous crypto trading for its citizens. With the new development, users must pass KYC procedures before being allowed to trade digital assets on crypto trading platforms like Upbit.

Apart from these allegations, the FIU accused Upbit of facilitating 45,000 transactions with unregistered foreign crypto exchanges. This violates the country’s Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information.

South Korea cracks down on overseas exchanges

On Oct. 25, 2024, South Korea strengthened its oversight of cross-border crypto asset transactions. The country’s finance minister, Choi Sang-Mok, said the government will introduce a reporting mandate for businesses that handle cross-border transactions with digital assets.

This aims to promote preemptive monitoring of crypto transactions “used for tax evasion and currency manipulation.”

In line with the rules, South Korea’s Google Play blocked the applications of 17 crypto exchanges at the request of the FIU. The FIU said it’s also working to restrict exchange access using the internet and Apple’s App Store.

Magazine: Ridiculous ‘Chinese Mint’ crypto scam, Japan dives into stablecoins: Asia Express

Coin Market

Sony Electronics Singapore accepts USDC payments through Crypto.com

Published

46 minutes ago

April 2, 2025

The online store of a Singapore-based subsidiary of Japanese tech behemoth Sony is now accepting USDC payments through Crypto.com.

According to an April 2 announcement, Sony Electronics Singapore now accepts USDC (USDC) stablecoin payments through an integration with the Crypto.com exchange. Crypto.com Singapore general manager Chin Tah Ang said:

“We’re pushing to make paying in crypto more mainstream and partnering with a well-established and forward-thinking brand like Sony Electronics Singapore further raises awareness of how simple it can be to pay for everyday goods and services using crypto.”

This is far from the only high-profile partnership that Crypto.com has been recently able to score. At the end of 2024, the mobile-first crypto exchange partnered with Deutsche Bank to provide corporate banking services across Asian-Pacific markets, covering regions such as Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Singapore bets on stablecoins

The Singaporean Sony subsidiary allowing stablecoin payments may be the start of a new trend in the region. Late February reports indicate that Metro, a publicly listed department store chain in Singapore, has enabled its customers to pay for products using stablecoins like Tether’s USDt.

The initiatives also follow January reports that Singapore is becoming a key destination for Web3 companies after it issued twice as many crypto licenses in 2024 as in the previous year. William Croisettier, chief growth officer of ZKcandy, told Cointelegraph at the time:

“The country adopts a risk-adjusted approach to crypto regulation, focusing on the biggest digital currencies to protect investors. Singapore also makes it easy for new crypto firms to interact with local banking partners, a provision considered a luxury in other parts of the world.”

An emerging crypto hub

In late November, the crypto-friendly digital bank Singapore Gulf Bank reportedly sought a fund injection of at least $50 million as it plans to acquire a stablecoin payments company in 2025. The firm was motivated to pursue the effort, with alleged plans to sell up to 10% of its equity to fund it.

A study published at the end of 2024 revealed that its approach to regulation made Singapore a global champion of blockchain technology. The country scored the highest among all considered jurisdictions based on multiple factors.

The top blockchain jurisdictions ranked based on patents, jobs, and exchanges. Source: ApeX Protocol

Magazine: Singapore ‘not ready’ for Bitcoin ETFs, sneaky crypto mining rig importer: Asia Express

Coin Market

Bitcoin sales at $109K all-time high 'significantly below' cycle tops — Research

Published

46 minutes ago

April 2, 2025

Bitcoin (BTC) investors who bought BTC in 2020 or later are still waiting for higher prices, new research says.

In findings published on X on April 1, onchain analytics firm Glassnode revealed that $110,000 was not high enough to make many hodlers sell.

Glassnode: 2020 Bitcoin buyers “still holding”

Bitcoiners who entered the market between three and five years ago have retained their holdings despite significant BTC price upside.

According to Glassnode, this investor cohort, with a cost basis between the 2020 lows of $3,600 and the 2021 highs of $69,000, is still hodling.

“Although the share of wealth held by investors who bought $BTC 3–5 years ago has declined by 3 percentage points since its November 2024 peak, it remains at historically elevated levels,” it said.

“This suggests that the majority of investors who entered between 2020 and 2022 are still holding.”

Bitcoin Realized Cap HODL Waves data. Source: Glassnode

An accompanying chart shows data from the Realized Cap HODL Waves metric, which splits the BTC supply into sections based on when each coin last moved onchain.

Using this, Glassnode is able to draw a distinction between the 2020-22 buyers and those who came immediately before them.

“In contrast, over two-thirds of those who had bought $BTC 5–7 years ago exited their positions by the December 2024 peak,” it reveals, reflecting their lower cost basis.

Speculators stay cool at BTC price highs

As Cointelegraph reported, more recent buyers, who form the more speculative investor cohort known as short-term holders (STHs), have proven much more sensitive to recent BTC price volatility.

Episodes of panic selling have occurred throughout the past six months as BTC/USD hit new record highs and then fell by up to 30%.

Continuing, Glassnode said that current STH participation does not suggest a speculative frenzy — something common to previous BTC price cycle tops.

“Short-Term Holders currently hold around 40% of Bitcoin’s network wealth, after peaking near 50% earlier in 2025,” it said, alongside Realized Cap HODL Waves data on March 31.

“This remains significantly below prior cycle tops, where new investor wealth peaked at 70–90%, suggesting a more tempered and distributed bull market so far.”

Bitcoin Realized Cap HODL Waves. Source: Glassnode

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Coin Market

SEC and Gemini ask to pause lawsuit to explore ‘potential resolution’

Published

3 hours ago

April 2, 2025

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and crypto exchange Gemini have asked to pause the regulator’s suit over the exchange’s Gemini Earn program, saying they want to discuss a potential resolution.

In an April 1 letter to New York federal court judge Edgardo Ramos, lawyers representing the SEC and Genesis requested a 60-day hold on the case and that all deadlines be pulled “to allow the parties to explore a potential resolution.”

“In this case, the parties submit that it is in each of their interests to stay this matter while they consider a potential resolution and agree that no party or non-party would be prejudiced by a stay,” the letter states.

The lawyers added that a stay was in the court’s interest as “a resolution would conserve judicial resources” and proposed that a joint status report be submitted within 60 days after the entry of the stay.

The SEC sued Gemini and crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital in January 2023, alleging they offered unregistered securities through the Gemini Earn program.

In March 2024, Genesis agreed to pay $21 million to settle charges related to the lending program, but the enforcement case against Gemini remains outstanding.

Letter from SEC and Genesis Global requesting extension of stay. Source: CourtListener

The letter did not specify what a possible resolution would entail, but the SEC has dropped several lawsuits it launched against crypto companies under the Biden administration, including against Coinbase, Ripple and Kraken.

In February, Gemini said the SEC closed a separate investigation into the firm as the regulator winds back its crypto enforcement under President Donald Trump.

“The SEC cost us tens of millions of dollars in legal bills alone and hundreds of millions in lost productivity, creativity, and innovation. Of course, Gemini is not alone,” Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said at the time.

OpenSea, Crypto.com and Uniswap, among others, have also recently reported that the SEC had closed similar probes into their companies that were investigating alleged breaches of securities laws.

Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29