Over the past month, about 29 mobile applications of cryptocurrency exchanges have been removed from the South Korean version of the Google Play app store. These restrictions are directly related to the tightening of regulatory supervision over the activities of foreign crypto companies that carry out operations without proper registration in the jurisdiction. The affected platforms include major international platforms for trading cryptocurrencies, such as Bybit, MEXC, KuCoin, Gemini, and the defunct BitMEX. It is noteworthy that the OKX exchange application, which was deleted at the end of July, was restored a few days later, while the Bybit application is still completely unavailable for download and search in the store.

Despite the restrictions imposed in the ecosystem of the Android operating system, the official websites of the mentioned services, as well as their applications distributed through the Apple App Store, remain fully accessible to residents of South Korea. Such selective law enforcement practice indicates the specific focus of regulators on the Google Play distribution channel. Lee Eog-won, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission of the Republic of Korea, stressed that after the entry into force of the Law on the Protection of Users of Virtual Assets, the authorities are actively investigating more than 40 alleged cases of illegal cryptotrading, transferring over 30 cases to investigative authorities for further procedural actions.

The current wave of enforcement measures reflects the government's systemic efforts to combat financial irregularities in the national digital asset market. In March, the Financial Intelligence Service (FIU) imposed a substantial fine of $24.6 million on the Bithumb exchange, which ranks second in the country in terms of trading volumes, citing violations of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws. In addition, a record volume of suspicious cryptographic transactions was recorded last year: local virtual asset service providers (VASPs) filed more than 36,000 suspicious transaction reports in just an eight-month period, highlighting the ongoing challenges in ensuring comprehensive market compliance.