One of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb, has just announced that it will be halting trade on its platform in 11 different countries. Bithumb cited money laundering concerns and will comply with the anti-money laundering norms and is blocking residents in the jurisdictions of the Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT) blacklist.
According to coinmarketcap, the exchange is the fifth largest in the world by trade volume. All new applications coming from these countries will be refused starting today, and all prior accounts will disappear by June 21st.
A spokesperson from Bithumb said:
“We will strictly enforce our own rules and protect our investors while we actively cooperate with local authorities.”
The countries now blocked from Bitumb services include:
North Korea
Iran
Iraq
Syria
ETHiopia
Sri Lanka
Trinidad and Tobago
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tunisia
Vanuatu
Yemen
“NCCT users will be prevented from using the exchange so that cryptocurrency is not used to fund international terrorism,” the press release added.
The Soth Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb and Upbit, have faced a large number of compliance demands as of late, such as identity verification and taxation. About two weeks ago, UpBit was being investiGated for fraud, but it was later found that they were not guilty.
Both exchanges have immediately complied with any compliance issue they’ve faced with the government.