Share this article

Seoul Seizes Tax Dodgers' Crypto From Exchanges: Report

The department has seized around 25 billion won ($22 million) in digital assets from 676 of the alleged tax evaders.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:45 p.m. Published Apr 23, 2021, 11:57 a.m.
Seoul skyline
Seoul skyline

Seoul has reportedly become the first city in South Korea to begin cracking down on individuals who are allegedly hiding their assets digitally using cryptocurrency.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

According to a report by the Yonhap News Agency on Friday, the city's tax collection department discovered cryptocurrencies being held in three crypto exchanges belonging to 1,556 individuals and company heads.

The department has since seized around 25 billion won ($22 million) in digital assets from 676 of the alleged perpetrators.

The 676 individuals reportedly owed the local government 28.4 billion won ($25.4 million) in overdue taxes. Of those 676, 118 of individuals have paid back 1.26 billion won ($1.1 million).

According to a statement from the city, many are asking the city to allow them to pay their taxes rather than sell their seized crypto. "We believe the taxpayers expect the value of their cryptocurrencies to increase further due to the recent spike in the price of cryptocurrencies and have determined they will gain more from paying their delinquent taxes and having the seizure released," the statement said.

The city government will continue to pursue the remaining 890 people in order to reclaim any outstanding taxes being held in cryptocurrencies.

On Monday, the country's Office for Government Policy Coordination announced it will begin cracking down on “illegitimate crypto businesses” as well as all forms of money laundering and scams involving crypto. The move is in line with the recent pursuits by the country's financial regulators targeting illicit activity involving digital assets.

Read more: South Korea Kicks Off New Crackdown on Illicit Crypto Activities

More For You

Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture

Pudgy Title Image

Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.

What to know:

Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

More For You

HYPE token surges 24% as silver futures volume soars on Hyperliquid exchange

(Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)

Silver futures on the crypto derivatives exchange are currently showing $1.25 billion in volume and $155 million in open interest.

What to know:

  • HYPE, the native token of the Hyperliquid derivatives exchange, jumped 24% in 24 hours as trading in silver, gold and other commodities surged.
  • Silver perpetual futures on Hyperliquid became the platform’s third most active market during Asia hours.
  • Because trading fees from user-created markets are used largely to buy back HYPE on the open market, the spike in commodity activity is fueling demand for the token and signaling broader growth for Hyperliquid.