Apple has delisted 14 crypto apps in South Korea at the request of one of the country’s regulators.
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an anti-money laundering agency, issued the requests.
The regulator claims the banned apps involved foreign virtual asset operators conducting “unreported business activities.”
Apple’s list of blocked apps includes the crypto exchange giants KuCoin and MEXC. Last month, Google Play delisted both of those exchanges and 15 other crypto operators at the FIU’s request.
The regulatory crackdown materializes as crypto adoption swells across South Korea. The Seoul-based news agency Yonhap, citing data released by the South Korean government, reported that as of late February of this year, 16.29 million people have opened accounts on Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, the country’s top five domestic crypto exchanges. The country currently has an overall population of nearly 52 million.
Banks in South Korea have also reportedly been rushing to partner with crypto firms as the country’s digital asset regulations become less restrictive.
In February, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission announced that the country would launch a pilot program in the second half of 2025 that allows 3,500 corporate entities to buy crypto for investment and financial purposes. Corporate crypto transactions have been banned in the country since 2017.
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