According to a report by Digital Asset on July 24, at least 29 overseas cryptocurrency derivative exchange app listings are no longer installable in South Korea’s Google Play Store. OKX paused support on July 24, and the Bybit app was blocked on July 10. The exchanges investigated are the top 50 derivative exchanges by CoinMarketCap.
29 apps disabled; OKX and Bybit are the latest cases
According to Digital Asset’s investigation, the search results for 29 overseas derivatives exchange apps in South Korea’s Google Play Store fall into three categories:
Cannot be searched and shows no notice: 17 locations
Shows “Unavailable”: 6 locations
Shows “This service is unavailable in your region”: 6 locations
Latest disabled case: The OKX app paused support for the Korea Play Store on July 24, and the Bybit app was blocked on July 10. Previously, in March 2025, at the request of the authorities, 17 apps—including KuCoin and MEXC—were first blocked. Disabling via the Play Store does not affect Android users accessing the relevant exchanges through the web or the Apple App Store.
FIU report 14 vs not reported 15
According to Digital Asset’s investigation, the 29 blocked exchanges are split into two groups: 14 had previously been listed by South Korea’s FIU as unreported VASPs and had been reported to law enforcement agencies (including MEXC, KuCoin, BingX, XT.COM, LBank, CoinW, etc.). The other 15 (including OKX, Bybit, Gemini, WhiteBIT, BitMEX, etc.) were not reported to law enforcement agencies by the FIU, but they were also blocked by the Play Store.
This shows that the scope of Google’s VASP policy, which will be implemented starting January 2026, goes beyond the FIU’s reported list: all apps that are not registered with the South Korean FIU as VASPs may be blocked by Google under its own policies, regardless of whether they were reported by the FIU. Google said this is Google’s independent decision and not a requirement from the authorities.
FAQ
How many overseas crypto exchange apps has Korea’s Google Play blocked?
According to Digital Asset’s investigation dated July 24, 2026, at least 29 overseas cryptocurrency derivatives exchange app listings can no longer be newly installed on South Korea’s Google Play Store, including OKX (July 24), Bybit (July 10), MEXC, KuCoin, Gemini, BitMEX, and more.
Among the 29 blocked exchanges, which ones were previously reported by the FIU?
According to Digital Asset’s investigation, 14 of the 29 had previously been classified by South Korea’s FIU as unreported VASPs and reported to law enforcement agencies. The other 15 were not reported to law enforcement agencies by the FIU, but were also blocked by the Play Store.
Does Google Play blocking affect access to the web and App Store?
According to reports, Play Store shutdowns do not affect access to the web versions of the relevant exchanges. Whether the web is blocked is decided by the Korea Communications Standards Commission, and it is not yet confirmed whether the App Store has a separate blocking policy.
