The Block: Police reportedly seize South Korea's largest crypto exchange Bithumb

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has reportedly seized South Korea's largest crypto exchange Bithumb for alleged fraud.

South Korea's oldest newspaper, the Seoul Shinmun, reported the news on Wednesday, saying that Bithumb's offices have been raided. The exchange is reportedly accused of pre-selling native BXA tokens worth about 30 billion won (~$25 million) to investors and then not listing the token, which has allegedly led to losses to investors.

Bithumb is said to have issued BXA tokens in the past concerning its acquisition by Singapore-based BK Group. But that deal reportedly didn't materialize . Bithumb chairman Lee Jung Hoon is also said to be under investigation by police on charges of escaping property.

The Block has reached out to Bithumb for comments and will update this story should we hear back.

South Korean crypto exchanges appear to be going through trouble. Last week, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency also seized Coinbit exchange for allegedly inflating about 99% of its trading volumes, which resulted in "unfair profits" of at least about $84 million for the exchange and its team.