South Korea crypto exchange Zeniex folds to pressure

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The South Korean crackdown on cryptocurrencies has claimed another victim. According to a post on its website, the Zeniex exchange has reluctantly decided to close its doors, caving to regulatory pressure that is targeting all crypto exchanges in the country. The last day of operations for the exchange will be November 23.

The exchange first launched this past May. It, like many others that enter the fray, had hoped to propel the crypto finance industry forward, but the introduction of increased controls by South Korean regulators has forced it to reconsider.

According to the company’s blog post, “ZXG was expected to be listed on crypto-exchanges overseas in order to continue the management of the fund. However, with recent developing issues, we believe that ZXG Crypto fund No 1. is and will have difficulties to operate smoothly with such current pressure from the financial authorities. As such we feel heavy responsibility and have come to this unfortunate decision.”

It added, “We sincerely apologize that we were unable to meet the expectation of our Zeniex users and supporters and we greatly appreciate for those who have sent us such generous support and encouragement throughout our history.”

Prior to November 23, all users of the exchange will need to withdraw all of their assets. The only coin that can remain is the exchange’s own digital token, the ZXG. All services will be terminated as of that date and the company indicates that it will notify all users by email or phone prior to the closure.

ZXG’s demise will fall a few days later. According to a separate company announcement, the ZXG Crypto Fund No. 1, a fund managed by crypto experts, will be dissolved and ZXG, which initially was expected to continue to be traded on exchanges, will be pulled from trading on November 9. Any holdings will be converted to Ether and delivered by November 12.

Zeniex indicated, “ZXG was expected to be listed on crypto-exchanges overseas in order to continue the management of the fund. However, with recent developing issues we believe that ZXG Crypto fund No 1. is and will have difficulties to operate smoothly with such current pressure from the financial authorities. As such we feel heavy responsibility and have come to this unfortunate decision. As a result, Zeniex and Genesis will return the cost of ZXG to the Ethereum (ETH) by calculating the average cost ZXG.”