South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit has approved measures to block domestic access to 27 websites run by unregistered crypto exchanges and virtual asset service providers, including KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex and Bitrue.

The FIU announced the decision on Tuesday. It follows reviews by the Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission on Oct. 6 and 7, which assessed the platforms' compliance with the country's anti-money laundering framework.

The target list also names CoinW, BTCC, BitMart, BingX and DigiFinex, among others. All 27 platforms operate without registration under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, the statute that governs virtual asset service providers in South Korea.

"With this decision, blocking measures against illegal virtual asset operators will also apply to internet websites, following apps such as those on Apple and Google," the FIU said, according to a translation.

How will the blocks work?

The measures take two forms. Authorities will terminate services hosted domestically or block access to websites operated overseas. For platforms with servers abroad, enforcement relies on network-level restrictions rather than takedowns.

The website push extends an app-store campaign that began earlier this year. In April 2025, South Korea blocked downloads and updates for 14 unregistered crypto exchange apps on Apple's App Store, after restricting 17 apps through Google Play.

What triggers designation as targeting Korean users?

The FIU applies three tests to determine whether an overseas operator courts South Korean customers, according to its announcement:

• The platform offers Korean-language services
• It markets directly to South Korean users
• It supports transactions in Korean won

Operators meeting these criteria without FIU registration fall within the enforcement perimeter. The framework stems from the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, which requires registration for any virtual asset service provider serving the domestic market.

What happens to existing user funds?

The FIU acknowledged that website blocks could complicate withdrawals for existing users. It plans to publish withdrawal guidance and coordinate support through the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance, or DAXA, a self-regulatory body formed by the country's major exchanges, with cooperation from the affected operators.

That concession signals regulators expect the blocks to create practical friction for retail users holding assets on the listed platforms, even as the FIU frames the campaign as consumer protection.

Why the enforcement is escalating now

The sequence from app restrictions in April to website blocks in October shows a widening chokepoint strategy. App-store removals limited new downloads; website blocks cut off browser access for users who never installed the apps or sideloaded them. Together, the two measures cover the main distribution channels available to unregistered platforms.

For the named exchanges, the move effectively ends compliant access to a retail market that ranks among the most active globally for spot trading. Registration under the AML act would subject them to the same oversight applied to domestic players such as Upbit and Bithumb.

The FIU's guidance through DAXA and the withdrawal-support mechanism will test how quickly stranded users can recover funds once the blocks take effect. Further website designations appear likely, since the FIU's Korean-language, won-support and marketing criteria extend to any unregistered operator serving the market.