South Korean authorities have been reported to have issued a number of weakening crypto transactions this year, with a total exceeding the combined number of the past two years.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) data was mentioned by representative Jin Sung-Joon and the Korea Customs Service (KCS) Statistics, Yonhap News reported That local virtual service providers (Vasp) filed 36,684 Delight -Suspected Transaction Reports (STRS) Between January and August 2025.
Strs are one of South Korea’s anti-money laundering (AML) tools. Under the laws of the country, financial institutions, casinos and Vasp should file a STRS when they have reasonable grounds to suspect that funds involve criminals proceeds, money laundering or terrorist financing.
According to data, the STRS filed between January and August exceeded the joint of 2023 and 2024, when the STRS was 16,076 and 19,658, respectively. This year’s number is Dwarfs 2021, which has 199 cases, and 2022, with 10,797.
The authorities in illegal foreign remittances and stablecoins
South Korean officials said most of the transactions included “Hwanchigi,” or illegal foreign exchange remittances. In these cases, the criminals proceeds were converted into crypto using platforms offshore. They are turned into domestic exchanges and then cashed out of the winner.
From 2021 to August 2025, the KCS identified the $ 7.1 billion worth of crypto crimes in prosecutors, with $ 6.4 billion (about 90%) tied to Hwanchigi’s Hwanchigi schemes.
In May, customs officials were uncovered with an underground broker accused of using Tether (USDT) stablecoin in illegally move about $ 42 million between South Korea and Russia. Two Russian citizens have been accused of conducting more than 6,000 illegal transactions between January 2023 and July 2024.
Due to cases like these, Jin urged agencies, including KCS and the FIU, to strengthen effective implementation to monitor criminal funds and to block recognizable remittances.
The official said government agencies should establish systematic countermeasures against new types of foreign exchange crimes.
Related: South Korea Crypto Firms Get ‘Venture Company’ Status next week
A global remembrance of the policy
South Korea numbers show a broader policy dilemma facing regulators worldwide. While stablecoins and digital currencies offer faster and cheaper payments, they also create new channels for prohibited flows.
The European Union’s Crypto-Assets markets (MICA) The regulation refers to the prohibited cross-border transaction risks by ordering those who have been licensed to ensure transparency.
It also attaches large volumes of stablecoin. MICA limits stablecoin transfer to 1 million transactions per day or a notional amount of 200 million euros per day.
In 2021, the European Central Bank policy Floated the idea of limiting the euro digital handling to 3,000 euros per person to avoid unnoticed foreign exchange activity.
In 2023, the Bank of England proposed the individual cover of digital pounds between 10,000 ($ 13,558) and 20,000 British pounds. However, the UK crypto groups The approach was slappedsaying these limitations do not work in practice.
Magazine: XRP is the leading owner of Thailand, the Shanghai Dumps Fil: Asia Express
