Bithumb will tighten KYC procedures and block some users

South Korean bitcoin exchange Bithumb has introduced new restrictions as part of its anti-money laundering policy. The Korea Herald writes about it.

According to the newspaper, the measures affected residents of countries from the list of enhanced monitoring. FATF and “high risk” jurisdictions.

The first list includes the Bahamas, Barbados, Ghana, Iceland, Mongolia, Pakistan, Syria and others. In the second – Iran and North Korea.

Bithumb will block existing user accounts from the listed regions and prohibit residents from creating new accounts, the newspaper claims.

 

“The company will continue to improve its system to protect investors and increase the transparency of the cryptocurrency market,” The Korea Herald quotes a representative of the exchange.

 

The journalists also announced the intention of the trading platform to tighten KYC procedures. According to them, Bithumb has partnered with Octa Solution to develop anti-money laundering solutions for digital assets.

On Wednesday, March 10, Chainalysis announced a collaboration with Bithumb. Using the tools provided by the analytical company, the exchange plans to improve security.

In September 2020, Seoul police conducted a series of searches of Bithumb’s offices and seized a portion of Bithumb Holdings shares held by Bithumb Korea director Kim Bin Gen.

In the same month, the CEO of the exchange, Lee Jong Hoon, was summoned for questioning in the case of fraud with the native Bithumb BXA token. According to investigators, he raised about 30 billion won (~ $ 25 million) on presale, but never included the coin in the listing.

Amid news of Bithumb’s problems with authorities, the media reported that the company had been re-listed for sale. Its cost allegedly ranged from $ 430 million to $ 600 million.

In January 2021, journalists named the gaming corporation Nexon Group as the likely buyer of Bithumb. Representatives of the latter denied reports of a likely deal worth 500 billion won (~ $ 457 million).