Five South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges recently said they will delist litecoin because the crypto asset’s Mimblewimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) upgrade violates the country’s laws. As a result, the exchanges’ users cannot use the Korean won to trade the crypto asset, which has since been named a “dark coin.”
Upgrade Violates Financial Information Act
Following the recent Mimblewimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) upgrade to litecoin, five of South Korea’s major cryptocurrency exchanges, namely Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, responded by announcing that they would delist the crypto asset. The exchanges argue that the upgrade has made litecoin transactions anonymous, which is against the country’s laws.
A News1 report claims that the Mimblewimble upgrade caused anonymity. This is contrary to the Specific Financial Information Act, which states that crypto exchanges can’t handle coins that conceal transfer records.
Upbit said in a statement:
Under the Special Act, all exchanges are required to verify that transmission records can be used for anonymous digital assets. If anonymity is detected, they must take necessary measures.
In May, a statement from the Litecoin team said the “highly anticipated” MWEB upgrade had been activated. The statement explained that the upgrade “is a fungibility-improving technology that enhances confidentiality between the senders and receivers in a transaction.” The amount being sent is only known between the sender and receiver, the statement added.
Users in South Korea can’t trade LTC using these currencies because LTC has been labeled as a dark currency. The News1 report stated that LTC withdrawals will be supported by the exchanges at least for a month.
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