Where cryptocurrency exchanges are being shut down

According to Decrypt, KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Bitrue, ZB.com, Bitglobal, CoinW, CoinEX, AAX, ZoomEX, Poloniex, BTCEX, BTCC, DigiFinex and Pionex have been blacklisted by the regulator. These are foreign companies that conducted business, offered services to South Korean citizens and managed their financial flows without proper registration with local regulatory authorities.

The FSC said the unregistered exchanges do not have safeguards such as certified information security management systems, which are required under Korean law. This could allegedly make them vulnerable to security breaches. It should be recalled that the penalty for illegal business activities of unregistered entities in South Korea is up to five years in prison or a maximum fine of 50 million Korean won, i.e. $38,000.

South Korea’s most popular stock exchanges

South Korean regulators have recently been paying close attention to the cryptocurrency market due to the collapse of Terra, which brought billions of dollars in losses to its customers. Terraform Labs, the startup that created Terra, is based in South Korea. The day before Do Kwon, the startup's CEO, gave his first-ever interview on the reasons behind the collapse of Terraform Labs and was widely criticized for failing to speak publicly.

And while in some parts of the world the cryptosphere is facing numerous bans, other countries are welcoming the development of the digital asset market. South Africa is among them. The Prudential Authority of the Reserve Bank of South Africa recently sent out guidelines to its branches on combating illegal activities, urging banks not to sever all ties with the crypto world, Cointelegraph reports.

The official notice was signed by the Director General of the Prudential Authority, Fundi Tshazibana. Recall that in the past, some South African banks have cut ties with crypto-asset providers due to unclear regulatory rules or high risk. However, the notice stresses that the risk assessment does not mean abandoning cryptocurrencies altogether. Here’s the quote.

A risk assessment does not necessarily imply that institutions should seek to avoid risk entirely – for example, by massively terminating relationships with customers, which could include crypto-asset service providers.

The rise of crypto transactions in Africa

Such a move may even pose a “threat” to the country’s overall financial integrity at all, as it limits the ability to address issues such as money laundering. That is, for South Africa, abandoning crypto in the long run is far more undesirable than its full adoption.

Overall, other cryptocurrencies have also been affected by the negative news. In particular, cryptocurrency broker Genesis Trading has announced a 20 per cent staff reduction as the cryptocurrency market continues to fall. The situation is critical: the company’s CEO Michael Moreau will also be leaving his post. His position as interim head will be taken by Derar Easlim, who is now Genesis’ chief operating officer.

According to Decrypt’s sources, Michael Moreau will continue to be involved in the cryptocurrency brokerage for some time as an advisor. He himself has already commented on his dismissal with the following quote.

It has been an honour to lead Genesis for over a decade, and I am ready to support the next phase of the company’s growth.

Former Genesis CEO Michael Moreau

In addition to Moreau, 20 per cent of the company’s 260 employees will also lose their jobs. According to Easlim, all of this is being done to optimise costs at Genesis.

The changes and investments we are announcing today reaffirm our commitment to streamlining our operations as we continue to expand our services to meet customer needs today and into the future.

The Genesis management reshuffle also included the hiring of several other executives who will "further strengthen Genesis' management and successfully position the firm for the future." They include Chief Risk Officer Michael Patchen, Chief Compliance Officer Michael Patterson and Chief Technology Officer Matthew Johnson.

And while for individual cryptocurrencies the bearish trend is causing a deep crisis, for the industry as a whole it is also bringing some benefits. According to analysts at platform Chainalysis, the amount of money stolen by cryptocurrencies has fallen 65 per cent year-on-year since the beginning of January. It is currently hitting the $1.6 billion mark. Here’s the relevant quote.

Since January 2022, fraudsters’ profits have been falling plus or minus in line with the price of Bitcoin. It’s not just fraudsters’ profits that are falling – the cumulative number of transactions associated with fraudulent schemes in 2022 has fallen to its lowest level in four years.

Fraudsters’ revenue volumes by year

Eric Jardine, head of cybercrime research at Chainalysis, explained that crypto investors most often fall for fraudsters during a bullish trend, when they lose vigilance due to a surge in assets and high profits. The expert also hypothesised that there are more inexperienced cryptocurrency users on the bull market who are more likely to fall prey to fraudsters.


Overall, we believe that the situations listed above prove how challenging the climate within the coin industry is. However, while some companies are struggling financially in the face of a collapsing market, others are supporting the popularisation of digital assets and their further development. So the outlook for the coin niche remains bright, even in the face of the ongoing bearish trend.


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