DAXA Refers Four Unregistered Overseas Crypto Exchanges to Korean Police

South Korea’s Digital Asset eXchange Alliance, or DAXA, has asked police to investigate four overseas crypto exchanges it says continued serving Korean users without completing the country’s mandatory virtual asset service provider registration. The referral was filed on August 31, DAXA said Tuesday.

DAXA said its review of the exchanges’ websites and mobile apps found several signs of active solicitation in South Korea, including official Korean-language services, cryptocurrency prices converted into Korean won and reward centers tied to logins, deposits and trading activity. Some incentives were paid in USDT or platform points, according to local reports.

Under South Korea’s Specific Financial Information Act, overseas crypto businesses targeting domestic customers must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit even when their headquarters or servers are outside the country. Operating without registration can carry penalties of up to five years in prison or a 50 million won fine. The Financial Services Commission has also warned that unregistered operators fall outside key domestic anti-money-laundering and user-protection controls.

Enforcement has expanded beyond app-store blocks

The latest referrals follow a broader enforcement push against offshore platforms. In June, DAXA and registered Korean crypto businesses identified 12 allegedly illegal operators—eight over-the-counter businesses and four overseas exchanges—and referred them to police. The FIU subsequently told registered VASPs not to transact with those operators and requested domestic blocking of their websites and apps.

South Korean authorities had already used app-store restrictions against offshore exchanges in 2025, including KuCoin and MEXC, after determining they were serving Korean customers without registration.

DAXA has not publicly identified the four exchanges in the latest referral. The initial disclosure also did not announce whether regulators would seek website or app-store blocks against them, leaving the police investigation as the immediate next step.