South Korean Regulator Reports Two Virtual Asset Market Manipulation Cases

• The FSC says it has submitted two cases of virtual market manipulation for investigation.
• A whale engaged in pump-and-dump while another trader spammed the market via APIs.
• FSC warned users to be wary of virtual assets with suddenly skyrocketing prices.

The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) has decided to report two cases involving virtual asset market price manipulation to investigative authorities.

According to a report released after its meeting on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, FSC stated that the first case involves a large-scale virtual asset investor, known as “whale,” who mobilized large amounts of capital to manipulate the market prices of virtual assets listed on both domestic and overseas exchanges.

Meanwhile, the commission described the second case as one involving a user who repeatedly submitted small market orders via API channels to create the appearance of active trading. The FSC accused the suspect of using that method to induce other users to trade, and then simultaneously submitted high-price buy orders to raise the market price, after which they realized trading profits.

The FSC noted that the first suspect engaged in the illegal act for about two months, securing a dominant market position by investing tens of billions of won to acquire up to half the global circulating volume of the targeted asset. According to the commission, the whale’s action created an artificial dominant buying pressure in the market, thereby significantly impacting the virtual asset’s price.

Having referred the cases to the relevant investigative agencies, FSC warned the public to refrain from chasing after virtual assets with unjustifiably skyrocketing prices or trading volumes. The Commission described it as a “Pump-and-Dump” scenario, where whales capitalize on their massive financial power to influence virtual asset prices.

Typically, whales engage in Pump-and-Dump schemes by concentrating on accumulating circulating supply to drive up the price of a token before selling arguably all their holdings at once. The result of such acts is that whales accumulate massive profits shortly before a sharp drop in the digital asset’s price, leaving the majority of users holding the tokens in losses.

In the meantime, the FSC said it will make every effort to protect users and establish a sound market order by further enhancing the investigation system for unfair trading. According to the Commission, it will pursue swift detection of such acts in the market and hand over suspects to the appropriate authorities.

Related :South Korea FSC Crypto Freeze Total Reaches $61.4 Million Since 2019

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