South Korean Watchdog to Ramp Up Crypto Market Manipulation Probes
South Korea‘s financial regulator is set to enhance its oversight of the cryptocurrency market and introduce harsher punishments for financial firms experiencing IT outages, following serious incidents that revealed vulnerabilities in market fairness and consumer protection.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) disclosed its policy roadmap for the year on Monday, which includes planned investigations into perilous practices within the crypto sector and the adoption of punitive fines for IT failures across finance, according to a report from Yonhap news agency.
Regarding crypto market supervision, the FSS said it will perform dedicated probes into behaviors that erode market order. This entails looking into price manipulation conducted by large traders, commonly referred to as “whales,” as well as tactics like artificially pumping the value of tokens whose deposit and withdrawal functions have been suspended on specific exchanges.
The report notes that other activities under examination include rapid price-pumping schemes, market manipulation utilizing application programming interface orders, and the circulation of false information through social media.
