South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit has made headlines today after suspending deposits and withdrawals of crypto assets exceeding 1 million Won. The exchange giant made this known earlier today via a notice on its official website, citing the suspension of the VASP’s travel rule solution service.
Upbit Suspends Deposits and Withdrawals of Assets Over 1 million Won
In a recent turn of events, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, Upbit has responded to the changes to the virtual asset service provider (VASP) Ten&Ten which facilitates deposits and withdrawals of over 1 million won ($723).
In a post dated April 17, Upbit informed the public that it would no longer process deposits and withdrawals of assets exceeding the aforementioned amount due to the suspension of use and termination of Ten&Ten’s Travel Rule Solution service. The exchange pointed out that the update will take effect from 2024-04-22 (Mon) at 10:00 Korea Standard Time.
Recall that on March 8, Ten&Ten exchange service was terminated and as a result, Upbit suspended the withdrawal of digital assets exceeding 1 million won after giving a notice for March 15. Upbit disclosed the latest list of VASPs that allow deposit and withdrawals, including Bblock, Gopax, FlatExchange, Aprobit, Hanbitco, Qbit, Korea Digital Asset Trust (KDAC), Oasis Exchange, Cardo, Bikmon. See the full list here.
Additionally, for the account owner verification service-linked VASP, the following are available; Upbit Singapore, Upbit Indonesia, Upbit Thailand, OKX, Bybit, Binance, BitMEX, Bitget, Crypto.com, HTX (formerly Huobi Global).
KRW Exceeds USD in Crypto-Fiat Trade Volume
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2024, the South Korean Won (KRW) surpassed the US Dollar (USD) in terms of the volume of cryptocurrency trading. According to reports from Bloomberg, the Won was involved in more than $456 billion worth of transactions on controlled cryptocurrency exchanges. The US dollar’s cumulative trading volume is reported to be about $455 billion which is slightly below KRW volume.
This suggests that as cryptocurrency prices rise during this bull cycle, South Korea accounts for a significant portion of the worldwide exchange volume. April saw an increase in spot and futures trading volumes from South Korea as the nation’s trading environment became more welcoming to cryptocurrencies.
