Binance halts KRW pairs amid tightening crypto exchange regulations in Korea

The crypto exchange giant said the decision was part of efforts aimed at proactive compliance with regulatory demands.

Binance has halted Korean won (KRW) trading pairs as part of a raft of changes to its operations in South Korea.

In a notice issued on Friday, the crypto exchange giant announced the discontinuation of KRW trading pairs as well as KRW payment options on its service. Other features discontinued include Korean language support on its website and merchant applications for peer-to-peer transactions in South Korea.

As part of the announcement, Binance also advised P2P traders to remove all trade advertisements denominated in KRW from the platform. Detailing the reason for the decision, Binance said that it was proactively complying with local regulations.

Indeed, South Korean authorities have been putting the screws on crypto exchange operators in the country amid a tightened regulatory regime. From a compulsory licensing regime to mandatory real-name trading accounts, South Korean regulators have even expanded the scope of the policy to include foreign platforms operating in the country.

Crypto exchanges have until September 24 to register with South Korean regulators or shut down their operations. Failure to do so could come at the cost of fines and jail time for principal actors of the errant platforms.

Related: South Korea’s crypto regulation is now expanding to foreign businesses

Some exchanges have already announced plans to shut down their operations, at least temporarily, before the September 24 deadline

The country’s Financial Services Commission is also planning to prohibit cross trading on crypto exchanges in a move that could pose significant operational hurdles for platforms in the country.

Meanwhile for Binance, the discontinuation of KRW trading pairs is the latest disruption to the platform’s operations in jurisdictions across the world. Within the last few months, Binance has received warnings from regulators in different countries stating that the exchange was operating without due authorization.

Banks and payment processors in the United Kingdom have also withdrawn services to the exchange giant. Earlier in August, Binance announced a restriction on derivatives trading for users in Hong Kong as well as a few countries in Europe.