chepicap.com
South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has recently been accused of faking its trade volumes, as well as artificially inflating prices of many tokens. The exchange is denying any wrongdoing.
As reported by Korea Times, the nation's largest crypto trading platform is accused "of manipulating its data processing system to rake in more than 120 billion won ($106.8 million) while falsifying 254 trillion won worth of fake orders to inflate the exchange's trade volume."
The allegations were initially brought to the attention of Seoul's District Prosecutor's Office by the Financial Services Commission (FSC). It suspects that automated bots were involved, and the scheme was carried out twice - between October and December, and again on December 18.
In a press release, Upbit asserted that it "as a corporate body, has never liquidated any assets acquired via fraud or used fraudulent assets to make further transactions. We will fully cooperate with the prosecution's investigation to show the allegations are totally false."
If the allegations are found to be true, Upbit is likely to lose its place as the leading South Korean crypto exchange when the revised volumes are taken into account. Increased regulatory scrutiny in South Korea has led many companies to take the decision to leave the country and set up elsewhere, although the national interest and investment in cryptos and blockchain is one of the highest in the world.
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