Recherche vérifiée par sources: MEXC / Kucoin
Le corps de l'article est affiché dans sa version anglaise vérifiée. La traduction sera ajoutée après revue des sources.
The short answer
Yes. South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) said on 13 October 2026 that the Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission decided on 6–7 October to block domestic access to the websites of 27 unregistered crypto platforms, including MEXC, KuCoin, BingX, BitMart, Phemex, Bitrue, WEEX and Pionex. Their mobile apps were already blocked from new installs and updates on Google Play and the Apple App Store. If you are in Korea and still hold funds on one of these platforms, the FIU's own advice is to withdraw your crypto and deposits now, and it says withdrawal guidance will be published through the exchange alliance DAXA.
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What the FIU announced
The announcement came as a press release from the Financial Services Commission's FIU, dated 13 October 2026. The key points, in the order the regulator gave them:
- Who decided: the Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission reviewed the FIU's requests on 6 and 7 October and ordered access blocks on 27 websites that are still operating.
- What the block does: platforms with servers or operators in Korea have their service terminated; platforms run from abroad are blocked for users inside Korea.
- Why: none of the 27 has registered as a virtual asset service provider under Korea's Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, the country's anti-money-laundering law. Running an unregistered crypto business there is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.
- Apps first, websites now: app stores had already stopped new downloads and updates of these apps at the FIU's request. Cointelegraph reported in April 2025 that 14 exchange apps had been blocked on the Apple App Store after 17 on Google Play.
- Withdrawals: the FIU acknowledged that existing users may have trouble withdrawing because of the block, and said it will publish detailed withdrawal methods and procedures through DAXA, with the platforms' cooperation.
The regulator also said it will move faster from now on: new unregistered platforms and mirror sites will be referred for blocking as soon as they are found, without waiting for a user complaint or a court ruling.
The full list of 27 blocked platforms
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| # | Platform | # | Platform | # | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KuCoin | 10 | DigiFinex | 19 | Nonkyc.io |
| 2 | MEXC | 11 | Pionex | 20 | SUPEREX |
| 3 | Phemex | 12 | Blofin | 21 | 코인솔루션 (Coin Solution) |
| 4 | XT.com | 13 | Apex Pro | 22 | 신밧드솔루션 (Sinbad Solution) |
| 5 | Bitrue | 14 | WEEX | 23 | Xgram |
| 6 | CoinW | 15 | BitMart | 24 | 탭비트 (Tapbit) |
| 7 | ZoomEX | 16 | KCEX | 25 | 코인마이 (CoinMy) |
| 8 | Poloniex | 17 | BingX | 26 | 빅원 (Big One) |
| 9 | BTCC | 18 | P2B | 27 | 유비트 (Ubit) |
The list comes from attachment 2 of the FIU release; names in Korean are given as published, with our phonetic reading in brackets, which is not a confirmed brand name. A separate attachment lists 44 unregistered businesses the FIU has referred to investigators since August 2022; KuCoin and MEXC were on the first referral, dated 17 August 2022.
How Korea decides an overseas exchange is "targeting Koreans"
Korea's law applies to foreign platforms if they do business with Korean residents. The FIU says it looks at three things together: whether the platform offers a Korean-language website, whether it runs marketing or events aimed at Korean customers, and whether it supports payment in Korean won. That is why global exchanges with Korean-language pages land on the list even though they have no office in Seoul.
Only 28 businesses are registered with the FIU today, and the regulator says any other company doing crypto business in Korea is operating illegally. The full registered list is on the FIU website at kofiu.go.kr.
What it means for you, by situation
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| Your situation | What changes | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| You live in Korea and hold funds on a listed platform | The website is blocked from Korea; the app can no longer be installed or updated | Withdraw crypto and any balance now; watch for DAXA's withdrawal guidance |
| You live in Korea and want to send crypto to one of them | Registered Korean exchanges are already instructed to restrict transfers to unregistered platforms | Expect such transfers to be refused |
| You buy crypto with a Korean credit card | Card purchases of crypto from unregistered platforms have been banned since a May 2024 rule change | No change; this was already closed |
| You share a referral link for one of these platforms with Korean users | The FIU warns this may be treated as assisting an unregistered business | Stop; the regulator says recommenders could face criminal liability |
| You live outside Korea | Nothing changes; the block applies to access from inside Korea | No action needed |
Why the regulator says these platforms are risky
The FIU's case is about user protection as much as money laundering. Unregistered platforms are not supervised under Korea's Virtual Asset User Protection Act, have not passed the ISMS information-security certification, and therefore carry a higher risk of data leaks and hacks. The release also cites a June 2026 joint inspection by DAXA and registered exchanges, which found that the unregistered platforms it caught charged average trading fees of 1.5% to 10%, compared with an average of 0.16% at Korea's five won-based exchanges, up to 62 times more.
The FIU also warns against "high return, principal guaranteed", "private information" and "global listing" advertising, which it says should be treated as possible fraud.
How to act on this
If you are in Korea, the safest order of operations is simple: check whether the platform you use is on the list above or missing from the FIU's registered list; withdraw your crypto to a wallet you control or to a registered Korean exchange that accepts that asset; and do not hand an unregistered platform your private keys, login details or a copy of your ID. Suspected illegal crypto operators can be reported to the police (112), the FIU (infiu@korea.kr) or DAXA (jebo@kdaxa.org). For readers outside Korea who want to know how the affected exchanges compare on fees and features, our MEXC profile and KuCoin profile list their current terms, and the exchange directory shows which venues serve which regions.
Quick answers
Is MEXC banned in South Korea? Its website is now blocked for users in Korea and its app cannot be newly installed or updated there, because MEXC is not registered with the FIU.
Can I still withdraw my funds from MEXC or KuCoin in Korea? The FIU expects withdrawal problems and says it will publish withdrawal procedures through DAXA with the platforms' cooperation. It advises users of unregistered platforms to withdraw immediately.
Are Binance, OKX, Bybit or Bitget on the list? None of them is among the 27 websites in this decision or the 44 referrals the FIU attached.
Is it illegal for me to use a blocked exchange? The release targets the operators and warns that recommenders could be liable; it does not set out a penalty for ordinary users.
Why did this happen now? It extends the 2025 app-store blocks to websites after months of coordination between the FIU and the content regulator.
Sources and what we could not verify
The list and every quoted rule come from the FIU press release of 13 October 2026 and its attachments; Cointelegraph's report is used only for the 2025 app-store figures. The release does not say when DAXA's withdrawal guide will appear, so we cannot yet say which withdrawal routes will stay open on each platform. You can compare MEXC's current terms for non-Korean users on the MEXC exchange page.