South Korea and Sri Lanka implement new cryptocurrency regulations

South Korean financial authorities have approved measures to block domestic access to 27 cryptocurrency websites operated by unregistered virtual asset service providers. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) announced that the decision follows reviews by the Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission. The targeted platforms include global exchanges such as KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, Bitrue, CoinW, BTCC, BitMart, BingX, and DigiFinex. These entities are not registered under South Korea’s anti-money-laundering framework, specifically the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information.

In a separate regulatory move, Sri Lanka is working to establish a formal framework for virtual assets. This initiative aims to bring digital asset service providers under oversight through licensing requirements, customer due diligence, and suspicious transaction reporting. The push is intended to prepare the country for upcoming evaluations by international financial watchdogs, such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to ensure compliance with global anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.