Korean crypto exchange Upbit to halt withdrawals for unverified users

Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, will soon stop providing services to unverified users.

The company announced on Saturday a series of changes to their customer verification system, in compliance with South Korea’s Anti-Money Laundering requirements.

Upbit announced that it will begin gradually restricting services to unverified users. This means unverified customers won’t be able to transact more than 1,000,000 Korean won ($850) per week. It is effective Wednesday, October 6.

The firm stated that customers who have completed customer verification will no longer be subject to the 1,000,000 won limit. Members with orders containing less than 1,000,000 won can still proceed with customer verification.

Upbit will place additional limits on unverified users within a week of the initial AML restrictions. Upbit will cease trading services and withdraw funds for customers who have not completed customer authentication by October 13. Upbit stated that trading and withdrawals will resume once customer verification has been completed.

According to the announcement, new users signing up after Wednesday will not be allowed to withdraw or deposit until verification is completed. K Bank, Upbit’s official fiat-on-ramp provider, was also recommended by the exchange for verification. The announcement stated that withdrawal procedures to other banks would be notified via a separate notice.

Related: South Korean Crypto Tax Delay is Overruled

Upbit is a major cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, alongside Coinone, Bithumb and Korbit. It accounts for more than 80% local cryptocurrency market.

New customer verification policies were adopted by the firm in accordance with South Korea’s AML regulations. Real-name accounts must be provided through local banks. South Korean crypto exchanges were required by the Financial Services Commission to apply for an operating license. This was due by September 24th. Binance was one of the major exchanges that stopped KRW trading pairs. They also removed Korean language support.