Is South Korea Equipped to Combat Crypto Crime?

Estimated read time 2 min read
  • In connection with criminal investigations, South Korea has so far confiscated nearly $1.5 million in cryptocurrency.
  • North Korea is a world record holder when it comes to crimes associated with crypto, will the government keep up the pace?

South Korea has so far confiscated only $1.5 million in cryptocurrency in connection with criminal investigations, according to data released by the National Police Agency. This is a tiny fraction of the $92 million in assets that police have considered part of crypto criminal investigations.

The low amount of confiscated cryptocurrency has been met with criticism from the crypto community, who say it shows that the police lack the IT skills and expertise necessary to combat crime in the Web3 era. They also point out that cryptocurrency-powered money laundering is increasing significantly in South Korea.

The South Korean police established a network of specialized crypto teams last year in an attempt to address the “wild west” crimes in the crypto space. The government is also about to respond by establishing a new crypto regulator. However, experts say that these measures are not enough and that more needs to be done to combat crypto-related crime.

One of the main challenges facing law enforcement is that money-laundering technologies related to crypto assets are becoming increasingly sophisticated and intricate. This makes it difficult for law enforcement to track and trace cryptocurrency transactions.

Another challenge is that cryptocurrency platforms are often vulnerable to hacking attacks. North Korean hackers have been particularly active in this area, stealing an estimated $400 million in Ethereum in 2021 and $100 million in crypto so far in 2022.

The government needs to take a more proactive approach to combating crypto-related crime. This includes investing in new technologies to track and trace cryptocurrency transactions, as well as working with crypto platforms to improve their security.

You May Also Like

More From Author

+ There are no comments

Add yours