Major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit is reportedly facing a monopoly investigation by local financial regulators.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to investigate the Upbit exchange for possible anti-monopoly violations, according to local news agency Infomax reported on October 9.
During an audit by South Korea’s parliament, the National Assembly, lawmaker Lee Kang-il reportedly raised concerns about Upbit’s market monopoly and its relationship with online bank K-Bank.
He specifically raised the issue that Upbit’s deposits take up a significant portion of K-Bank’s deposits, posing a potential banking risk.
FSC chairman Kim Byung-hwan said that he was aware of Upbit’s monopoly issue and that the FSC would investigate Upbit’s monopoly structure in response to Lee’s concerns.
“We implemented the Electronic Financial Transactions Law on September 15 and we will monitor the situation after the system is implemented,” Kim said.
K-Bank, a major banker of Upbit since at least 2021, submitted for an initial public offering in Seoul in September that could raise as much as $732 million. This could potentially make it the largest South Korean listing in almost three years.
This is a developing story and further information will be added as it becomes available.
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