2026-01-22 06:57:32

Recently, a major move by South Korean law enforcement agencies is worth noting. According to reports, Korean police have focused on cracking down on a series of cases involving illegal activities conducted via social media over the past year. These criminals mainly engage in large-scale drug transactions through platforms like Telegram, with the key being their use of virtual assets as a means of payment to evade tracking.

The data is quite alarming. Gangwon Police Department statistics show that a total of 131 suspects have been apprehended, including 54 main participants in circulation and sales, 77 drug users, and 44 individuals have already been prosecuted. What does this indicate? It shows that the privacy and high liquidity features of virtual assets are being exploited by criminals as "money laundering tools."

From another perspective, this also reflects a reality: as virtual assets become more widespread and their application scenarios increase, how to protect user privacy and ensure legitimate use while preventing their misuse for illegal activities has become a common challenge for law enforcement agencies worldwide. This operation by Korean police, to some extent, indicates that regulatory authorities in various countries are strengthening cooperation, and the crackdown on illegal activities involving virtual assets is continuously escalating.

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ILCollector

· 10h ago

Telegram has indeed become a lawless zone; the crypto community needs to reflect on this. --- 131 people caught, and that's it. With such high profits from black market activities, everyone wants to give it a try. --- Virtual assets were originally meant for freedom, but now they're being used for this. It's ironic. --- The strong privacy feature is indeed a double-edged sword. It seems that compliance is an unavoidable path. --- South Korea's strict investigations—I'm not sure if they'll impact the crypto market. Feeling a bit anxious. --- It's all because some exchanges have made KYC virtually meaningless. --- Will this crackdown increase the demand for stablecoins? Anyway, it's a way to go around the restrictions. --- Ultimately, it's still the regulators who can't keep up with the pace of development, always a step behind.

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TokenomicsTinfoilHat

· 10h ago

That's why I've been saying we need to strengthen on-chain transparency, or this kind of thing will never end.

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GateUser-00be86fc

· 10h ago

Here we go again, always blaming the crypto world for money laundering, but there are many ways to launder money. It seems like these news reports only catch drug dealers, but I haven't seen them catch the real big fish. 131 people sounds like a lot, but they're probably just the bottom-tier retail investors. Regulatory upgrades? Haha, they're always armchair strategists after the fact. That's why I still hold my coins and stay put, to avoid attracting attention.

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0xSoulless

· 10h ago

Here we go again, virtual assets becoming a tool for money laundering, and then what? Regulations will get stricter and stricter. Retail investors, whether to cut or not, still have to be cut.

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GasFeeCrier

· 10h ago

Korea's recent actions are quite tough, arresting 131 people and sounding the alarm directly. Telegram drug transactions combined with encrypted payments—this combination is indeed hard to track... Virtual assets being used this way, even normal users have to take the blame, really annoying. Among the 131 people, 77 are drug users; this data needs to be looked at carefully. The privacy of encryption has been compromised, and regulatory authorities are finally taking serious action. Telegram should have been regulated long ago; social platforms turning into lawless zones is really excessive. That's why I say virtual assets need stricter KYC, anyone with a conscience wouldn't oppose it. But on the other hand, real bad actors will always find ways, can't really control them, right? Labeling tools as "whitewashing" tools means there's no way to remove it, and the industry will be stigmatized again. Korea's police have set an example for the world this time; other countries will definitely follow.

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StablecoinGuardian

· 10h ago

This wave of enforcement in Korea shows that the crypto circle has to tighten up; the money laundering game is no longer feasible.

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ser_we_are_ngmi