Key Takeaways:
- Bithumb and Upbit have designated Litecoin as an investment warning item.
- The exchanges promote transparency, whereas, the Mimble Wimble upgrade states otherwise.
- The downfall of Luna has raised an alarm in South Korean crypto exchanges.
After the Luna Fiasco, the South Korean authorities have been taking precautionary measures to save the country’s crypto market from following a downward trend as well. South Korea is also gearing up to implement the “Digital Asset Basic Act” in 2014. It is also about adopting the crypto licensing system to ensure the protection of consumers.
On May 23, two of the biggest crypto exchanges in South Korea, Bithumb and Upbit shared warnings related to Litecoin. The former has listed the token as one of the “investment warning items” and the latter has designated it as a “watchdog” after the Mimble Wimble upgrade got activated.
The major concern lies with the transparency of transactions. The Mimble Wimble upgrade along with the scalability of the Litecoin network has also offered its consumers to make transactions while keeping their identities confidential. In the official post, it is mentioned that “confidentiality” plays a significant role in today’s crypto space and every customer is entitled to it.
However, the two crypto exchanges do not share a similar view. They have cited the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information of Korea, which mandated for every virtual asset service provider keep their accounts authenticated and verified. It also includes that exchanges must implement KYC (know-your-customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) procedures.
Upbit is working towards providing its customers more transparency while “working to prevent money laundering and public intimidation financing through digital assets that have technology that makes these transfer records unidentifiable.” Therefore, they are not accepting deposits via the Mimble Wimble function and are not planning to do the same in the future.
Similarly, Bithumb has also stated that the upgrade goes against their “Transaction Support Policy” which mentions that “transaction support should be terminated if it violates laws, government or financial authorities’ guidelines or is subject to regulation.” The exchange is also not supporting Litecoin transactions via the upgrade and will eliminate it as an investment warning if the designation gets resolved.
