Share this article
Alleged Mastermind of Sex Abuse Chatrooms Hid Payments With Privacy Coin Monero
The 25-year-old used the cryptocurrency monero to obfuscate payments for abusive sexual material, according to a CoinDesk Korea investigation.
By Paddy Baker
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 8:22 a.m. Published Mar 26, 2020, 1:22 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Cryptocurrency accepted by the alleged ringleader of a Telegram chat group in exchange for abusive sexual material may never be retrieved.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Cho Ju-bin, 25, is said to have charged users anywhere between 200,000 to 1.5 million Korean won (around $160 to $1,200) to access images and videos of women, many younger than 16, who were forced to perform sex acts on themselves.
An investigation from CoinDesk Korea found Cho primarily dealt in the privacy-enhancing cryptocurrency monero so he could cover his tracks.
Korean authorities took the unusual step Wednesday of publicly naming Cho as the alleged ringleader of a Telegram chat group known as the Doctor's Room, following a petition signed by more than five million South Koreans. He stands accused of violating the child protection, privacy and sexual abuse acts, as well as charges surrounding abuse, blackmail and threatening others.
Following a Supreme Court case in 2018, cryptocurrencies are considered a form of property subject to forfeit after conviction in South Korea.
But there are complications. Authorities have to find the wallets in which digital assets are stored, as well as the private key to access them. "We may say that Mr. Cho has forgotten his private key," said Han Seo-hee, a Korean lawyer, to CoinDesk Korea. "If I refuse to submit it, there is no way to force it [from him]."
Although CoinDesk Korea has been able to show Cho received more than 8,800 ether , currently worth around $1.2 million, from more than 500 wallets from around the world, the majority of his payments were in monero.
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, where transactions can readily be viewed on a public blockchain, monero jumbles them together, making it next to impossible for third parties to trace payments. Even the amount he received may never be known without his cooperation.
Cho is accused of blackmailing at least 58 women and 16 girls to send degrading and sexually exploitative images of themselves, forcing many to carve 'slave' into their bodies. He operated multiple rooms on Telegram, with users paying extra to view more graphic or extreme material. Korean authorities have also arrested 124 suspects and 18 operators linked to the case.
“I apologize to those who were hurt by me,” Cho said following his public reveal Wednesday. “Thank you for ending the life of a demon that I couldn’t stop.”
Cho did not respond to questions from reporters on whether he had admitted to the charges.
More For You
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.
More For You
DeFi, ethics disputes remain in Senate crypto bill ahead of Jan. 15 vote
The Senate is approaching a potential markup that may advance crypto legislation to a vote, and industry insiders are amassing for a lobbying push this week.
What to know:
- The U.S. Senate is potentially as close as it's ever been to a crypto market structure law, as the Senate Banking Committee's chairman said the panel will be ready to mark up the latest draft next week.
- It's still unclear how much Democrats might push back against this timeline, considering most of the big-ticket disputes remain to be resolved between the parties.
- A negotiation document that emerged after a meeting among senators on Tuesday demonstrates that many of the Democrats' requests have potentially been satisfied, but key concerns over the ethics of senior government officials, the treatment of DeFi and the question of stablecoins offering yield still await answers.
- Crypto insiders will visit Senate offices this week to cheer on the negotiations.
Top Stories
