Crypto.com has delayed its much-anticipated launch in South Korea after an emergency inspection by local regulators revealed issues with its anti-money laundering measures, forcing the cryptocurrency exchange to reassess its compliance strategies.

Crypto.com Delays South Korea Launch Due to Regulatory Scrutiny Over Anti-Money Laundering Concerns

Crypto.com, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has postponed its South Korea launch after regulators identified money laundering abnormalities in the platform's data, per Cointelegraph.

South Korean officials discovered Anti-Money Laundering (AML) issues in Crypto.com's data and conducted an "emergency on-site inspection" to monitor the cryptocurrency exchange's operations.

“We found concerns related to the prevention of money laundering activities in the submitted materials,” an official from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) told local media Segye Ilbo.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which reports to the South Korean FSC, conducted an emergency on-site assessment on April 23, just six days before the exchange's scheduled launch in the region.

Crypto.com previously secured a domestic virtual asset business license (VASP) in South Korea after acquiring the local cryptocurrency exchange OKBit.

The company then acknowledged that it would postpone the anticipated April 29 launch to cooperate with regulators to explain the AML controls it has put in place.

“Korea is a difficult market for international exchanges to enter, but we are committed to working with regulators to advance the industry responsibly for Koreans,” the company stated.

“We will postpone our launch and take this opportunity to make sure Korean regulators understand our thorough policies, procedures, systems, and controls,” the Crypto.com spokesperson added.

South Korea Tightens Crypto Listing Rules to Enhance Security and Market Transparency

South Korean financial regulators also want to prevent the listing of digital assets involved in hacking incidents on local exchanges until the fundamental cause is thoroughly discovered through new criteria soon.

The new laws will also compel all international digital assets to submit a white paper or technical manual for the South Korean market before listing. However, tokens listed on a licensed exchange for more than two years may not be required to meet these new conditions.

Token issuers that fail to fully disclose critical information will be delisted from exchanges. Since late 2023, the Financial Supervisory Service has been developing listing standards with input from parties such as the Digital Asset Exchange Association.

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