South Korean Crypto Exchanges Face a Surge in Complaints, People Turning to Home Mining

There has been a massive spike in the number of complaints against South Korea’s four biggest crypto exchanges last year. However, citizens are adopting crypto in a big way. Crypto mining is also on the rise. According to Yonhap, there has been a vertical increase in complaints raised by the Korea Consumer Agency to the offices of the MP Lee Joo-hwan of the opposition People’s Strength Party.

Complaints ten times more than previous years

The data reveals that 232 formal complaints were lodged with the agency last year by the public against the four most significant crypto exchanges in the nation, Upbit, Coinone, Korbit, and Bithumb. The number is ten times the complaint received in 2019 and 2020. a majority of the complaints were registered against Coinone (130 cases), followed by Upbit with 74 instances, Bithumb with 17 issues, and Korbit with 11 cases.

Lee is a member of the National Assembly’s Committee on Small and Medium Ventures. They said that even though crypto-related complaints increase every year, no measure is being taken to protect consumers and crypto users.

However, the surge in complaints must also be seen in the context of four trading platforms’ user bases ballooned last year. By the end of 2021, a combined 12.02 million customers – over 23% of the population – had opened wallets at the four trading platforms. Moreover, daily transaction figures for the four exchanges had hit the $3.4 billion mark.

Although the national energy firm increased electricity prices, crypto mining also saw a massive rise. In 2020, 28 shipments of mining rigs were reported. This figure swelled to 453 shipments in 2021. Even though it represents a minuscule proportion in the global mining picture, it indicates that home mining is rising in the nation. In this country, conventional energy resources are almost non-existent.

Since the body began compiling data in 2017, the figures reveal that home miners have spent over $50.2 million on rig imports.