Google Blocks 17 Foreign Crypto Apps in South Korea, Here’s Why!
The South Korean government has requested Google Play to restrict access to 17 unregistered foreign crypto exchange applications, as part of its efforts to tighten regulations on crypto asset activities in the country.
Blocking of Foreign Crypto Exchange Applications
Quoting from Coinvestasi media, on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had requested Google to block domestic access to applications operated by 17 foreign virtual asset service providers that have been operating without authorization and targeting South Korean users through Google Play since March 25.
As a result, these applications can no longer be downloaded by new users, and existing users will no longer receive updates.
The list of exchanges affected by the access restrictions includes KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Biture, CoinW, CoinEX, ZoomEX, Poloniex, BTCC, DigiFinex, Pionex, Blofin, Apex Pro, CoinCatch, WEEX, and BitMart. The FSC stated that this blocking is expected to significantly prevent money laundering practices through virtual assets and protect local users.
South Korea’s Efforts to Monitor the Digital Asset Industry
This move follows a statement by the FIU on March 21, 2025, indicating that it was considering sanctions against operators who failed to report to the relevant authorities, as required under South Korea’s Act on Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information.
The FIU is also coordinating with the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) to finalize its blocking strategies.
As of March 26, the FSC released a list of 22 unregistered platforms, and out of that number, 17 have already been blocked from the Google Play Store.
This means users can no longer access these apps through new downloads or updates, effectively limiting the platforms’ operations.
Next, the FSC plans to work with Apple Korea and the KCSC to implement similar restrictions on applications in the Apple App Store, as well as limit access to websites related to unregistered crypto assets.
