Anonymous Bithumb traders face reduced withdrawal limits

Cryptocurrency traders who still haven’t converted to real-name accounts on Bithumb will face reduced withdrawal limits starting June 4, according to local media reports.

On Monday, MTN.com reported that the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange “has decided to reduce the withdrawal limit for customer accounts that have not converted to real name confirmation accounts.”

Financial regulators in South Korea have instructed investors to use real-name accounts for trading in cryptocurrencies in January. Under these rules, traders can only add funds to accounts that match the name given on their bank accounts, and all those engaging in cryptocurrency trading will have to adhere to the rules before they can continue to make investments.

Bithumb currently has a ceiling of KRW50 million (US$46,465) and a monthly withdrawal limit of KRW300 million (US$278,753) but starting June, unconfirmed accounts will see their daily withdrawal limits lowered to KRW45 million (US$41,795), according to the report. Bithumb estimates 60% of its customers have yet to switch to verified real-name accounts.

“We have decided to gradually reduce the amount of withdrawals in the Korean won because it is raising concerns that bank accounts for non-convertible withdrawals may become a target of various financial crimes,” a Bithumb representative told the South Korean news outlet.

The news comes on the heels of Bithumb’s announcement that it is banning trading in 11 countries, including North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Sri Lanka, which have been labeled as high risk by the Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT) initiative. The ban is part of South Korean exchange’s wider initiative to protect its infrastructure from money laundering and other finance-related criminal activities.

Bithumb also confirmed that it has developed “a first-class financial information security personnel and budget system.” This makes the exchange the first in the industry to have complied with the provisions of the 5-5-7 Electronic Financial Supervisory Regulation, which recommends that a financial organization’s workforce be comprised of 5% IT specialists, 5% of which dedicated to information security, and 7% of the company’s budget allotted for privacy.

As of May, Bithumb said the ratio of its IT personnel to total employees is about 21%, the ratio of IT personnel to information protection is about 10%, and the exchange’s annual expenditure budget is about 8% data protection-related activities.