South Korean crypto regulations demand exchanges to fulfill strong KYC and AML guidelines, and leading crypto exchanges have earlier delisted privacy coins.
Litecoin (LTC) has been delisted from major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, just days after the privacy-focused MimbleWimble (MWEB) upgrade was announced.
Upbit cited the Act on the Reporting and Use of Particular Financial Transaction Data, which restricts anonymous transactions, as the leading factor for discontinuing support for LTC in a public announcement on Wednesday.
The delisting follows the much-anticipated MWEB upgrade, which made LTC transactions confidential and hidden several crucial identifiers.
The upgrade was released earlier this year, approximately two years after the suggestion was first presented.
Crypto Exchange Approached Litecoin
The cryptocurrency exchange approached the Litecoin Foundation to learn more about the privacy-focused update, and after a lengthy analysis, the exchange decided to discontinue support for LTC transactions.
Users get 30 days to withdraw their LTC funds from the exchange.
According to Upbit’s official report:
“We made the decision to end transaction support for Litecoin (LTC) because the optional capability added in this network upgrade that does not publish transaction information relates to an anonymous transmission technology under the Specific Financial Information Act.”
8BTC reports that five major cryptocurrency exchanges have delisted Litecoin (LTC). The exchanges include Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax.
Five major South Korean #crypto exchanges – Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax announced to delist #Litecoin (LTC)https://t.co/p1SdMr1Gu5
— Gwei Research (@btcinchina) June 8, 2022
During the last week of May, Upbit as well as other key cryptocurrency exchanges issued a notice to investors, alerting them of the regulatory concerns associated with secret transactions.
The Specific Financial Information Act in South Korea is among the most rigorous crypto regulations in the world.
cryptocurrency exchanges must follow stringent know your customer and anti-money laundering standards, and anonymous transactions are prohibited under the rule.
LTC’s delisting was widely anticipated, particularly after exchanges issued a warning earlier this year.
Many other privacy coins have already been delisted by Korean exchanges in the past.
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