2026-01-06 11:24:20

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea is working on a new initiative: preemptively freezing crypto accounts suspected of price manipulation. This plan directly references risk control tools that have been in operation in the Korean stock market for many years, aiming to lock accounts before illegal profits are transferred.

It sounds quite tough, but the underlying logic is actually very practical. Under current rules, regulators must obtain court approval to freeze assets suspected of manipulation, which gives manipulators a window of time to escape. They can take advantage of this gap to quickly cash out, transfer funds, and hide profits. Tricks like front-running trades, automated wash trading, and large buy orders smashing the market can generate huge profits in an instant and disappear just as quickly.

FSC's new policy aims to change this passive situation. Once suspicious activity is detected, accounts will be frozen immediately without waiting for a court ruling, significantly improving efficiency. This pre-freezing system is planned to be implemented in April 2025 alongside amendments to the Capital Markets Act.

From a broader perspective, South Korea's crypto regulation is progressing in two phases. The first phase focuses on protecting users and is already in effect. The second phase aims to build a more comprehensive regulatory framework, including stablecoin rules, market abuse prevention, and more, which are still in planning. This freezing system is essentially a precursor to the second phase.

What does this change mean for exchanges and investors? On one hand, it narrows the space for market manipulation, making the environment cleaner; on the other hand, compliance costs and risk management requirements will also increase.

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AirdropHustler

· 01-06 11:54

South Korea's approach is really tough, but it seems like they're only offending those pump-and-dump market manipulators. I actually find it a bit satisfying.

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WalletManager

· 01-06 11:52

South Korea's pre-freeze system comes quite timely, after all, no matter how strict the management of private keys is, it can't avoid the tricks of on-chain manipulation. It will be implemented in April 2025, so we need to review the multi-signature wallet's contract audit report quickly. Retail investors should wake up; behind the market's clarity is the shrinking of your operational space, but who will bear the compliance costs? This move is indeed ruthless, essentially pushing the risk factor directly from the chain to the wallet end. Those holding the chips are now safer. It should have been done this way long ago, otherwise those automated arbitrage guys can cash out faster than anyone can chase. To put it simply, regulation is becoming more mature. The old tricks of avoiding by exploiting time differences are outdated. Now, it's a race of efficiency in chain bridging and asset allocation. If you're still using centralized exchanges to hold your coins, this policy will have the biggest impact on you.

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GasFeeSobber

· 01-06 11:48

This move by Korea is really a last-ditch effort, but on the other hand, what about the coins in the frozen accounts? The rules aren't clearly explained, so it feels a bit uncertain.

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degenwhisperer

· 01-06 11:42

Here we go again, Korea is blocking us here again It's either a freeze plan or some capital market law, honestly, they just don't want us to run This stuff should have come out long ago, to be honest, pump and dump and the old mouse warehouse definitely need regulation But... April 2025? How much time has passed now? Is this efficiency okay? Haha Honestly, there's only one thing on my mind: rising compliance costs = retail investors get cut even more harshly, don't call me "refreshing" The worst part isn't the freeze, it's that those institutions know the news in advance Pre-freezing depends on how it's used, how power is checked... feels a bit serious Korea's move... looks like market protection, but actually it's protecting their own people Anyway, it's definitely the exchange that adapts first, and we'll get the hit later How long do we have to wait until 2025, brother?

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TokenVelocity

· 01-06 11:30

Wow, Korea is really starting to get serious. In my opinion, this pre-freezing move is actually a necessary measure to block loopholes. Those manipulators are moving too quickly. I'm a bit worried about the rising compliance costs; small exchanges won't be able to withstand it.

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