The latest privacy-focused MimbleWimble upgrade to the Litecoin (LTC) blockchain has prompted two of Korea’s leading crypto exchanges to issue investment warnings about the fifth-largest cryptocurrency.
On Monday, Bithumb and Upbit, which together account for the majority of South Korean trading volume, released statements cautioning investors about the risks of the privacy-enhancing upgrade.
Litecoin’s adoption of the privacy-focused technology Mimblewimble, according to Bithumb, allows users to do “secret transactions,” which allow them to send tokens while masking transaction data. Upbit also made a similar statement.
Korea’s Act on the Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information, which requires cryptocurrency exchanges to undertake to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) processes, was mentioned by the two exchanges.
Exchanges issue warning against Litecoin investors
Korean exchanges have a history of delisting cryptocurrencies after providing similar warnings. The other two major South Korean exchanges, Korbit and Coinone, have yet to make any announcements.
The MimbleWimble update concept was first proposed nearly two and a half years ago. The new upgrade was released earlier this year after a majority of nodes authorized the MimbleWimble (MWEB) version. It will be able to interface with new MWEB privacy features. It was completed at Litecoin’s 2 million block height.
The MimbleWimble Litecoin upgrade has been the most eagerly anticipated in the history of cryptocurrencies. MWEB provides LTC users with not only additional privacy features, but also significant blockchain performance improvements. On the Litecoin blockchain, MWEB removes superfluous transaction data from blocks, allowing for more discrete transactions.
In 2011, Litecoin was launched as one of the first Bitcoin competitors (BTC). According to CoinMarketCap, it has a market cap of more than $5 billion, making it the 18th most valuable cryptocurrency.