Seoul forbids more and more crypto apps on smartphones
Last Updated on 21 April 2025 by CryptoTips.eu
The crypto craze of 2024 and 2025 is growing in the Asian metropolises of Seoul (9 million inhabitants) and Tokyo (10 million inhabitants). In Japan, the government is not intervening yet, but since several South Korean influencers on social media are advising young people to convert all their savings into crypto, the government in Seoul is taking drastic measures.
Especially now that the Korean won has been losing ground to other fiat currencies for several years. The South Korean government in Seoul has therefore decided to ban crypto apps on smartphones.
2017-2018
By the end of 2017, more than a third of young people in Japan and South Korea had bought crypto. That was the first time Bitcoin had ever reached $20,000. It looks like that number will be much higher during the 2024-2025 bull run.
Meanwhile, the Seoul government has been in political crisis for months (President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by parliament) and the Korean Won continues to struggle to gain ground against other fiat currencies. In fact, the Won has been losing to other currencies for more than seven years. Many older South Koreans have therefore long decided to invest their savings abroad, especially in the United States, whereas young people are increasingly choosing to invest in cryptocurrencies (which are extremely popular in the Asian country).
KuCoin
As different generations convert their savings either into foreign investments or digital currencies, the pressure on the Won is increasing. For several weeks now, the Seoul government has therefore asked Google (maker of the Android software on which many smartphones operate) and Apple (maker of the iPhone) to ban more and more crypto apps in South Korea.
The major crypto platforms KuCoin and MEXC have been denied access to Apple’s App Store in South Korea for a week now. Both companies have already appealed the decision, but it may take several weeks for a judge to consider them.
