News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Yonhap News, the Seoul Administrative Court’s Administrative Division No. 2 ruled on April 30 to accept Bithumb’s application to suspend enforcement of a partial business suspension order issued against it by South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The effect of this partial suspension order will thus be stayed until the court issues its final judgment in this case. Previously, in March this year, the FIU imposed a severe penalty on Bithumb—six months of partial business suspension and a fine of KRW 36.8 billion—citing 6.65 million violations by Bithumb of obligations stipulated under South Korea’s Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (“Special Financial Information Act”). The suspended operations specifically involve external virtual asset transfers (i.e., deposits and withdrawals) for new customers. This marks the harshest penalty ever levied against a Korean won-based cryptocurrency exchange operating in South Korea. The penalty was originally scheduled to take effect on March 27. However, Bithumb filed an administrative lawsuit on March 23 and simultaneously applied for a stay of enforcement, thereby temporarily halting the penalty’s effect. The court’s formal acceptance of the application means that the sanctions will remain suspended until the final ruling is rendered in this case.
South Korean crypto exchange Coinone has filed a lawsuit against the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) regarding its penalties and has applied for a stay of execution with the Seoul Administrative Court, attempting to suspend the relevant measures before the sanctions take effect on April 29.The core of the sanctions is to restrict new users from depositing and withdrawing crypto assets to and from external exchanges. Previously, the FIU imposed a three-month partial business suspension and a fine of 5.2 billion Korean won on Coinone for violating the Specific Financial Information Act. (Naver)
Odaily News: The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in collaboration with HM Revenue & Customs and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, recently conducted raids on eight locations across the UK suspected of engaging in illegal P2P cryptocurrency trading. Officials issued prohibition orders on-site, requiring the operators to cease activities immediately and gathered relevant evidence. The UK FCA pointed out that currently, no P2P cryptocurrency traders or platforms are registered with the regulator in the UK. Furthermore, in the recent multi-agency Operation Atlantic, law enforcement agencies froze $12 million in assets linked to cryptocurrency scams and traced over $45 million in stolen cryptocurrency. The UK FCA has now launched a consultation on its guidelines for the cryptocurrency regulatory framework set to take effect in 2027.
According to DigitalAsset, a South Korean court ruled in favor of Dunamu—the operator of Upbit—in an administrative lawsuit it filed against the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), overturning the FIU’s administrative penalty ordering a three-month partial suspension of Dunamu’s operations. The court found that, in the absence of specific implementation guidelines from regulatory authorities, Dunamu had taken certain measures—including requesting written commitments from customers and conducting internal monitoring. Although the court acknowledged that whether these measures were sufficient to prevent transactions with unregistered operators remained debatable, it held that Dunamu had fulfilled its reasonable obligations given the lack of clear regulatory guidance. Previously, the FIU had imposed the three-month partial business suspension on Upbit for inadequacies in its controls over transactions with unregistered operators.