South Korea Blocks 27 Exchange Websites, Including KuCoin and MEXC

South Korea is cutting off domestic access to the websites of 27 unregistered crypto exchanges, including KuCoin, MEXC, BingX, BitMart and Poloniex. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission announced the decision on Tuesday, Oct. 13. At the FIU's request, the Korea Communications Standards Commission reviewed the list at sessions on Oct. 6 and 7 and ordered sites run from abroad to be blocked, while platforms hosted in Korea face service termination. Google and Apple had already cut the exchanges' apps for Korean users at the FIU's request.

Details

An annex to the release names all 27 platforms: KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Bitrue, CoinW, ZoomEX, Poloniex, BTCC, DigiFinex, Pionex, Blofin, Apex Pro, WEEX, BitMart, KCEX, BingX, P2B, Nonkyc.io, SuperEx and seven operators with Korean names. Serving Korean customers without FIU registration is illegal, and a foreign exchange with a Korean-language site, promotions for Koreans or won payments falls under the law. Operating without registration carries up to five years in prison or a fine of up to ₩50 million. Since August 2022 the FIU has referred 44 such operators to investigators; KuCoin and MEXC were the first on that list, referred on Aug. 17, 2022.

The real change is speed. Website blocks used to wait on investigations and proof of losses; now access will be cut as soon as unregistered activity is detected, without waiting for complaints. The FIU says it will track mirror sites of blocked exchanges and refer them for additional review. It also cited a June joint probe with the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), the industry body of Korea's licensed exchanges: offending platforms charged average trading fees of 1.5% to 10%, versus 0.16% on average at the five largest won-trading exchanges, up to 62 times more. Only 28 providers are legally registered in Korea.

Users of the blocked platforms are told to withdraw their assets immediately; the FIU will route anyone who runs into trouble to DAXA for help. Asked by CoinDesk, KuCoin said it respects the laws of each jurisdiction and keeps strengthening its compliance framework, adding that "user assets remain safe and secure." BitMart, Phemex and MEXC did not respond to the outlet's requests.

What it means for the market

South Korea is one of the world's largest retail crypto markets, and for KuCoin, MEXC, BingX and BitMart the block removes a sizable slice of their audience: with the websites gone, Korean traders are left with VPNs. CoinDesk estimates that tighter rules pushed Korean investors to move about $110 billion from domestic exchanges to offshore platforms in 2025. The regulator is now closing that channel too, steering volume toward the five licensed won exchanges.

The decision landed in the middle of a Korean equity rout: according to Bitcoin.com, the KOSPI lost more than 15% over five sessions, and bitcoin dipped below $82,000 overnight (more on the $771 million in liquidations). For Korean traders holding positions on offshore derivatives venues, the block means fewer places to hedge and more reason to move funds home. BTC traded near $83,300 as of 8:20 AM ET; see the daily summary for the live price.