Cody McGrath 
South Korean crypto regulations have been designed to ensure exchanges follow strict KYC and AML rules, and major exchanges are taking down Litecoin from their platforms.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have delisted Litecoin (LTC) just weeks after announcing its privacy-focused MimbleWimble (MWEB) upgrade.
Upbit cited the Act on the Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information, which prohibits anonymous transactions, as the primary reason for discontinuing support for LTC in a public announcement on Wednesday.
The delisting follows the long-awaited MWEB upgrade, which made LTC transactions private and obscured some key identifiers. The upgrade was made available earlier this year, nearly two years after the initial proposal.
The crypto exchange contacted the Litecoin Foundation to learn more about the privacy-focused upgrade, and after careful consideration, the exchange decided to discontinue support for LTC transactions. Users of the exchange have 30 days to withdraw their LTC funds. According to Upbit’s official report:
“We decided to terminate the transaction support for Litecoin (LTC), as it was determined that the optional function that does not expose transaction information included in this network upgrade corresponds to an anonymous transmission technology under the Specific Financial Information Act.”
According to an 8BTC report, five major cryptocurrency exchanges, namely Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, have delisted LTC from their platforms.
In the last week of May, Upbit and other major cryptocurrency exchanges issued a warning to investors about the regulatory risks associated with confidential transactions.
South Korea has some of the most stringent crypto regulations in the world, including the Specific Financial Information Act. According to the rule, crypto exchanges must implement strict know your customer and anti-money laundering policies, and anonymous transactions are prohibited.
The delisting of LTC was widely anticipated, especially after exchanges issued a warning earlier this year. Several other privacy coins have previously been delisted by Korean exchanges.