South Korea Blocks Access to 27 Crypto Platforms, Including KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex and BingX

South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has blocked local traders from accessing 27 crypto service providers that were operating without registration. For PSPs and high-risk operators, the interesting part is not the number alone, but the enforcement pattern: app stores, websites, Korean-language marketing, and won-based payments are all now part of the same compliance net.

1. The FIU said the ban covers the mobile apps and websites of the listed services. Operators using domestic servers had their accounts closed, and access to their overseas sites has been blocked inside South Korea.
2. The list includes unregistered exchanges and crypto service providers such as KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, BingX, BitMart, XT.com, Bitrue, CoinW and BTCC. The measures were approved by the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC).
3. According to the FIU, operating an unregistered virtual asset service in South Korea is strictly prohibited. Virtual asset service providers must register with the FIU and maintain an ISMS (Information Security Management System). The stated penalties are up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won ($37,200).
4. The FIU said it has forwarded information on 44 unregistered services to investigators. It also warned that customers of illegal platforms cannot expect court protection if they lose funds.
5. The regulator said it will monitor new mirror domains used by the exchanges on the list to resume service for Korean traders, and will seek to have those domains blocked as well.

This is not South Korea’s first move on crypto distribution and payments. In May 2024, the FIU began restricting card purchases of cryptoassets on unregistered platforms. By March 2025, 14 exchange apps had been removed from the South Korean Apple App Store and 17 from Google Play. In January, Google Play in South Korea tightened its policy so that crypto exchange and wallet apps can only be listed if the service is registered with the FIU. In July alone, 29 crypto exchange mobile apps disappeared from South Korean Google Play.

In August, South Korean authorities also blocked access to Polymarket, a blockchain prediction platform, citing suspected gambling activity and the lack of a local licence.