S Korean Crypto Exchanges Will Struggle to Survive in 2020 – Report

A number of South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges are set to post “huge” losses this year, per a new report.

According to media outlet Newsway, industry insiders believe that most exchanges are “expected to suffer massive losses in FY2019.” The industry fears that nobody is safe, with trading volumes down across the board. Losses are expected at both smaller exchanges and larger platforms, such as Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit and Coinone.

Recent price rises have not helped much, per the report, with volumes staying flat despite positive price movements earlier this year.

The media outlet quotes an anonymous employee at a large, but unnamed exchange, as stating,

“If current trends continue, we won’t be able to make it into the second half of next year.”

And there was more bad news for the country’s beleaguered exchanges, as the government-run Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) forecasted that the number of hacks on domestic crypto exchanges will rise in 2020.

Most recently, Upbit lost ETH 342,000 (USD 50 million).

KISA says its research, conducted in conjunction with six domestic security providers, has found that “exchanges are vulnerable to hacking,” and will continue to be the target of malware- and phishing-based attacks next year.

Asia Kyungjae quotes the CEO of security provider Inca Internet as stating that hackers will make use of malware disguised as wallet apps and pose as exchange employees in an attempt to obtain keys and passwords throughout 2020.