Upbit, one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges, has announced that it will suspend deposits and withdrawals of digital assets of more than 1 million Korean won ($721). This decision comes in response to changes to the virtual asset service provider (VASP) Ten&Ten, a local facilitator of deposits and withdrawals.
In an announcement on April 17, Upbit stated that the suspension of use and termination of Ten&Ten’s Travel Rule Solution service is the reason behind the halt in deposits and withdrawals. Ten&Ten ceased transaction support on April 15, and the last date to withdraw crypto assets is April 22 at 10:00 am Korea Standard Time.
Ten&Ten played a crucial role in helping Upbit offer crypto deposits and withdrawals of over 1 million won. Other VASPs that allow deposits and withdrawals over 1 million won include Bblock, Gopax, FlatExchange, Aprobit, Prabang, Borabit, BTX, Flybit, Foblegate, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Coredocs, GDAC, Hanbitco, Qbit, Korea Digital Asset Trust, and Oasis Exchange.
According to a report released on April 10, the European Union ranked Upbit second in market share after Binance, with approximately 528.57 billion in trading volume. In the first quarter of 2024, the South Korean won surpassed the United States dollar in crypto trading volume, with transactions in Korean won on centralized exchanges totaling over $456 billion.
South Korean financial authorities are planning to release new guidelines imposing tighter regulations for token listings on centralized crypto exchanges by the end of April or early May. They will also prohibit listing digital assets with hacking incidents on domestic exchanges unless the root cause is thoroughly determined.
The 24-hour trading volume at Upbit fell to $3.8 billion at the start of April after reaching a high in March. On March 5, Upbit recorded a daily trading volume of almost $15 billion, the exchange’s highest trading volume of 2024 so far. This surge in trading volume may be attributed to Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high of $69,200 on the same day.
In related news, Hong Kong’s financial regulator has reportedly approved three spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which are expected to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in approximately two weeks. As the crypto market continues to evolve, investors and traders are closely watching for regulatory developments and market trends.