Share this article
Shopping Mall Bans Bitcoin and Ether Mining as Merchants Run Up Bills
An electronics retail marketplace in South Korea has reportedly taken the unusual step of banning vendors from mining bitcoin or ether.
By Wolfie Zhao
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 6:48 a.m. Published Aug 7, 2017, 9:00 a.m.
An electronics retail marketplace in South Korea has reportedly taken the unusual step of banning vendors from mining bitcoin in their stores.
Yongsan Market, based in Seoul, has told merchants that they aren't allowed to mine cryptocurrencies – bitcoin and ether, specifically – because of electrical costs, rising temperatures and the risk of fire, according to Korea Economic Daily.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
According to the report, the Yongsan Market's management has also warned merchants that the subsequent jump in electricity costs will be added to their bills.
The unusual decision is notable given the size of the market (the site boasts thousands of retail storefronts), and is a reflection of the growing popularity of small-scale cryptocurrency mining, of ether especially. As such, it's perhaps unsurprising that some vendors – particularly those that sell the graphics cards needed to mine cryptocurrencies – are using their own products to reap additional income.
Still, the incident comes at a time when the country is starting to demonstrate an increasing interest in cryptocurrencies.
According to Coin Market Cap data, the Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is now ranked first in terms of trading volume across global platforms, amassing total of over $342 million in the last 24 hours.
Keyboard workers image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
These Three Metrics Show Bitcoin Found Strong Support Near $80,000
Onchain data shows multiple cost basis metrics confirm heavy demand and investor conviction around the $80,000 price level.
What to know:
- Bitcoin rebounded from the $80,000 region after a sharp correction from its October all time high, with price holding above the average entry levels of key metrics.
- The convergence of the True Market Mean, U.S. ETF cost basis, and the 2024 yearly cost basis around the low $80,000 range highlights this zone as a major area of structural support.
Top Stories
