Cryptocurrency trading in South Korea is very speculative and similar to gambling. Major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum are priced significantly higher in the country's exchanges than elsewhere in the world. For example, bitcoin traded at $17,169.65 per token at local exchange Bithumb, which was a 31 percent premium to the CoinDesk average price.
That difference in price is called a "kimchi premium" by many traders.
The government had already declared in December that it would move to apply more scrutiny amid growing trade volume at the exchanges, including moves to curb anonymous trading.
Exchanges in South Korea have consistently seen prices well above those seen on other marketplaces. On Monday, the widely used research website Coinmarketcap removed average price data from Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit from its calculations, causing confusion in the market. Prices on South Korean exchanges are typically 30 per cent higher on average.