Tech giant Apple has delisted 14 crypto apps in South Korea at the request of the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit. This ban has affected over a dozen cryptocurrency apps including Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin and popular trading platform MEXC.
According to the FIU, these entities were operating unregistered and conducting unreported business activity. As per South Korean law, virtual asset providers are supposed to register before catering to Korean customers, accepting payment in Won, or advertising to Koreans.
Last month, the FIU requested that Google Play ban 17 crypto-related apps. The platform delisted all of them.
This regulatory move comes at a time when South Korea’s crypto adoption is swelling. A report by a Seoul-based news agency reported that in February, 16.29 million people opened accounts through the country’s top five domestic crypto exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax.
The Financial Services Commission—a key regulatory authority in South Korea—recently said the country will launch a program that will allow a total of 3,500 firms to invest in crypto by the second half of 2025. There has been a ban on corporate crypto transactions since 2017 in South Korea.