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Korean Government Approves Crypto AML Rule Set to Come Online Thursday

Crypto companies have until September to register with financial regulators.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:30 p.m. Published Mar 22, 2021, 6:39 p.m.
The South Korean Financial Services Commission is extending a ban on short-selling after last week's GameStop share price pump.

South Korea's anti-money laundering safeguards for cryptocurrency businesses will come into effect Thursday after cabinet officials approved a series of amendments last week, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

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  • Registered Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) must file suspicious transaction reports with the FSC, subject themselves to compliance inspections and verify their customers' identities beginning March 25.
  • Crypto firms engaging in custody, trading, sales, exchange and digital wallet services have a six-month grace period to register with the FSC before facing potential sanctions for non-compliance beginning in late September, FSC said.
  • FSC first called for crypto-focused updates to the country's AML framework in November 2020 in an attempt to get on track with the Financial Action Task Force's crypto oversight regime.
  • South Korea's National Assembly voted in favor of the update on March 5. Cabinet officials gave the law the green light on March 17.

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KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

16:9 Image

KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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Here is why investors are snubbing Michael Saylor’s 10% dividend offer in Europe

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor (Danny Nelson, modified by CoinDesk)

Access and market structure issues limit adoption of Strategy’s first non U.S. perpetual preferred, Stream.

What to know:

  • Stream (STRE) is Strategy’s euro-denominated perpetual preferred stock, positioned as a European counterpart to the firm’s high-yield preferred Stretch (STRC).
  • Khing Oei, founder and CEO of Treasury, says adoption has been constrained by poor accessibility and opaque price discovery.