More than six months after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, South Korean authorities continue to investigate and freeze the funds of persons involved in Terra. After seizing 140 billion won ($108 million) from Terra co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong in November, the Seoul Southern District Court has recently ruled to confiscate more assets related to Terra. The South Korean court has ordered to freeze of 120 billion won ($92 million) in assets of former and incumbent CEOs of Terraform Labs’ affiliate firm Kernel Labs, The Korea Economic Daily reported on Dec. 20. Founded in 2018, Kernel Labs is a blockchain consultancy …

South Korea’s Gyeongbuk Province has announced plans to use Web3 technology to expand its economic relations with Vietnam. In a Dec. 19 announcement, the province’s governor Lee Cheol-woo said the metaverse project would focus on “growing economic, cultural, commercial, and people-centered contacts with Vietnam.” According to the governor, the project will also see the region become home to a “metaverse innovation special zone,” which would come with special regulations and residential conditions within the zone. Back in June, the province announced it would invest $13.8 million to establish itself as a hub for metaverse innovation in the hope of growing …

It is understood that Terraform Labs’ controversial founder and CEO Do Kwon is currently located in the Southeast European nation of Serbia after leaving Singapore in September. According to a Dec. 11 report from Chosun Media, South Korean authorities followed a tip-off concerning Do Kwon's whereabouts suggesting he is now in Serbia and has been able to confirm it. "Recently, we obtained intelligence that CEO Kwon was in Serbia, and it was found to be true," an official told the outlet. The report also states that South Korea’s Ministry of Finance “is in the process of requesting cooperation from the …

A court in South Korea has supported the decision of local exchanges to delist Wemade’s Wemix (WEMIX) tokens, dismissing Wemade’s request to cancel the delisting. The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Dec. 7 to justify the decision of the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) to delist WEMIX from major South Korean exchanges, The Korea Herald reported on Thursday. The DAXA, a crypto exchange group representing South Korea’s largest firms like Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, said that Wemade has failed to properly disclose the number of tokens outstanding. The court has reportedly supported the position of the DAXA, …

A judge with the Seoul Southern District Court has reportedly set aside arrest warrants for Terra co-founder Shin Hyun-seong along with those of 3 Terra investors and 4 developers. According to an Dec. 3 report from South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, Judge Hong Jin-Pyo said there was little risk of Shin or the Terra associates destroying evidence related to the case against the crypto firm, and dismissed warrants that the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office issued on Nov. 29. The report added that Terra co-founder Do Kwon, also facing legal action in South Korea for his role in the firm’s …

Central bank governors from around the globe are currently in Thailand to discuss the role of central banks amid evolving financial technology. The conference is jointly hosted by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). A panel discussion on digitalized monetary systems saw Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Changyong Rhee, governor of the Bank of Korea, Adrian Orr, governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Cecilia Skingsley from Bank for International Settlements discuss the rise of digital assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and the risks associated …

Amid the ongoing manhunt for Terraform Labs co-founder and CEO Do Kwon, South Korean authorities have spread out their investigations to target other Terra executives. Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for co-founder Daniel Shin and seven other engineers and investors of the firm following suspicion of gaining illegal profits before the massive collapse of the Terra ecosystem. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office in South Korea suspected that Shin possessed Terra (LUNA) tokens, which were pre-issued without the public knowledge of investors. In doing so, Shin allegedly bagged profits worth 140 billion won (roughly $105 million) by selling the pre-issued …

South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges have announced they will delist WEMIX (WEMIX) — the native token of gaming company Wemade’s blockchain platform Wemix — alleging the firm provided “false information” in response to an investment warning it was issued. Bithumb, Upbeat, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — which are part of a collective called the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) — announced on Nov. 24 that they would terminate contract support for WEMIX, with trading set to end on Dec. 8. In the investment warning issued Oct. 27, DAXA alleged that there was considerably more WEMIX in circulation than Wemix had …

The FTX crash appears to have affected not only companies and investors but also entire cities that previously became partners of the troubled cryptocurrency exchange. South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan, is reportedly reconsidering its plans to build a local crypto exchange as a consequence of the FTX collapse, the local news agency Yonhap reported on Nov. 23. The government and financial authorities of Busan have become increasingly concerned about the concept of a public-private digital exchange amid the FTX contagion. “In view of various conditions, it is unreasonable for the city of Busan to promote the establishment of a digital …

As much as we all would want last week to be about something else, it was still all about FTX. The Supreme Court of the Bahamas has approved two provisional liquidators from PricewaterhouseCoopers to oversee the assets of the crypto exchange, which is headquartered in the country. Several days later, The Securities Commission of the Bahamas ordered the transfer of FTX Digital Markets’ digital assets to a digital wallet owned by the commission to protect “the interests of clients and creditors.” Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Agency became the latest authority to join the investigation into FTX’s collapse. The regulator also …

Native cryptocurrencies turned out to be the biggest factor contributing to the demise of numerous exchanges and ecosystems this year, most recently during the FTX collapse. Korea's financial authority, Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), took notice of the same as it launched a probe into crypto exchanges in relation to listing their in-house, self-issued tokens. Crypto exchange FTX and its 130 affiliate firms recently filed for bankruptcy due to a price crash of its in-house token, FTX Token (FTT). While Korean crypto exchanges are barred from issuing native tokens, KoFIU’s probe into the same is to ensure regulatory adherence for …

Authorities in South Korea have reportedly requested Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong, also known as Daniel Shin, to appear as part of an investigation into the collapse of the firm. According to a Nov. 14 report from Hankyoreh, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office's Joint Financial and Securities Crime Investigation Team announced that Shin should appear before prosecutors sometime this week. Authorities reportedly alleged the Terra co-founder held many Terra (LUNA) tokens — now Terra Classic (LUNC) — without the knowledge of retail investors and earned roughly 140 billion won — more than $105 million at the time of publication …