As became known thanks to data from Arkham Intelligence, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, Upbit, recently saw a flurry of activity with the popular meme-inspired cryptocurrency Shiba Inu (SHIB). Suddenly, a lot of SHIB was transferred from Upbit's deposits to the Korean exchange's hot wallet in medium-sized transactions.
This could be nothing more than an internal operation of the exchange itself, if the Shiba Inu coin did not make it into the top 20 cryptocurrencies on Upbit by volume in the last 24 hours.
What the play is between the second largest meme coin and the $2 billion Korean crypto giant remains to be seen. It is worth noting that Upbit remains one of the largest holders of SHIB, with its wallet "0x02E" holding 47.11 trillion SHIB, equivalent to $625.7 million. This is a whopping 4.71% of the total meme coin supply.
Given recent regulatory changes in the Asian country, anything related to South Korea cannot help but attract attention. For those who missed it, Upbit and Bithumb have been accused of charging token listing fees, and Upbit has denied the allegations, stating that it does not charge listing fees and demanding proof from those making the accusations.
However, the situation remains tense, and if evidence emerges, it could severely damage the reputation of exchanges and the entire crypto industry in South Korea.
At the same time, it was announced that the South Korean regulator plans to block the websites of crypto exchanges KuCoin, BitMEX, CoinW, Bitunix and KCEX for operating without a VASP license.
Dan Burgin
Denys Serhiichuk
Gamza Khanzadaev
Caroline Amosun
Tomiwabold Olajide