South Korea blocks access to 27 unregistered overseas crypto exchanges

South Korea has ordered authorities to block the websites of 27 unregistered overseas crypto exchanges. The country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) announced the measure on October 13, 2026. What the FIU actually did The targets are virtual asset service providers, or VASPs, that operate from abroad without FIU registration. That covers any business that lets people buy, sell, or move crypto. The decision followed deliberations by the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) on October 6 and 7. The KCSC handles online content oversight in the country, which makes it the body that can actually pull a website out of reach. The FIU framed the move as a user-safety measure. It pointed to escalating risks such as asset theft, fraud, and data leaks on platforms that sit outside the domestic regulatory perimeter. The regulator also warned that these platforms offer no investor protections and charge excessively high fees compared with registered exchanges. Unregistered platforms reportedly charge average trading fees of 1.5% to 10%. Major licensed exchanges charge around 0.16%. Some offshore fees are reportedly up to 62 times higher than what registered platforms charge. A cra...