South Korean Regulators Standardize Crypto Withdrawal Delays to Combat Voice-Phishing Scams
Since May 2025, South Korea has required cryptocurrency exchanges to delay withdrawals for 24 to 72 hours after a deposit, giving financial institutions time to intercept suspicious funds. However, individual platforms could grant exemptions based on account age and transaction history, allowing fraud rings to convert stolen funds into cryptocurrency and transfer them out quickly. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) have now standardized the rules to close a money-laundering loophole exploited by voice-phishing scams.
The FSC and FSS announced standardized internal rules on April 8, 2026, with immediate effect. Exchanges must review transaction frequency and duration as well as deposit and withdrawal amounts, and verify the source of funds in exempt accounts at least once a year. Authorities identified 2,526 accounts linked to fraud from June through September 2025. Of those, 1,490 were exempt accounts linked to 170.5 billion won, or 75.5% of the total losses of 225.7 billion won. Simulations showed that fewer than 1% of users would remain eligible for immediate withdrawals.
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The history behind this eventJapan FSA Urges Crypto Exchanges to Delay Withdrawals to Curb Scams
Japan’s Financial Services Agency and National Police Agency are stepping up safeguards against scams involving digital assets. Fraudsters can move victims’ funds from regulated exchanges to external wallets within minutes, while blockchain transfers are generally difficult to reverse. Withdrawal delays would give exchanges, banks and law-enforcement agencies more time to identify suspicious transactions, contact customers and potentially stop stolen assets from leaving the platform.
As of Aug. 7, 2026, the two agencies had asked Japanese crypto exchanges to consider measures including delayed withdrawals and the advance registration of destination wallet addresses. The request is intended to make it harder for scammers to rapidly transfer illicit proceeds after gaining control of an account or deceiving a victim. Authorities had not disclosed a standard delay period, an implementation deadline or an aggregate loss amount, leaving the operational details to individual platforms.
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