South Korean financial authorities say they have identified 25 suspects and investigated more than 40 unfair virtual-asset trading cases in the two years since the country’s investor-protection law for digital assets took effect. Most of the cases involved efforts to rapidly push up token prices, with average illicit gains estimated at about 1.4 billion won, or roughly $1 million.
Law’s first two years
The Virtual Asset Investor Protection Act came into force on July 19, 2024. It prohibits the use of material nonpublic information, price manipulation, other fraudulent trading practices, and trading in self-issued virtual assets.
Since then, authorities said they have completed investigations into more than 40 cases of unfair trading. More than 30 of those cases were referred or reported to investigative agencies, according to the source report.
Manipulation methods under scrutiny
Officials said the majority of the cases centered on market manipulation. Among the tactics cited were so-called “racehorse” trades, in which concentrated orders are placed to draw in buyers, and “penning,” where prices are driven higher on exchanges facing temporary deposit or withdrawal restrictions.
Authorities also said ultra-short-term manipulation often spread across several tokens rather than a single asset. On average, those cases involved eight different virtual assets.
Examples from investigations
The report highlighted several cases examined under an emergency fast-track procedure designed to speed up investigations. One involved spoofed API orders by a suspect identified only as A. Another, in September 2025, concerned a whale investor alleged to have used tens of billions of won to push up prices and generate illicit gains worth billions of won.
A separate case involved the spread of false information to inflate prices for profit. Across the 25 suspects identified, the average illicit gain per case was 1.4 billion won. Reported cases ranged from about 500 million won to more than 5 billion won, with prison terms corresponding to those outcomes, according to the source article.
Next enforcement steps
South Korean authorities said they plan to keep up strict enforcement aimed at preserving market order. Measures cited in the report include real-time monitoring and AI-based surveillance. Virtual-asset exchanges have also set up systems to detect and report suspicious transactions.
Authorities are also considering additional tools for the next phase of digital-asset legislation, including account freezes and a reporting and reward program for unfair trading.
The figures offer an early look at how South Korea is using its digital-asset investor-protection framework after the law’s July 2024 launch. They also suggest regulators are placing particular attention on price-rigging schemes that can move quickly across multiple tokens and trading venues.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io