Litecoin confidential transactions spook Korean exchanges

cointelegraph.com:

The recent privacy-focused MimbleWimble upgrade on the Litecoin (LTC) blockchain has prompted two of Korea's largest crypto exchanges to issue investment warnings about the fifth-largest cryptocurrency.

Bithumb and Upbit, which together account for the majority of trading volume in South Korea, released statements on Monday, advising investors about the risks associated with the privacy-enhancing upgrade. Litecoin's use of privacy-focused technology Mimblewimble allows users to make "confidential transactions," which allow them to send tokens while concealing transaction data, according to Bithumb. In addition to that, Upbit issued a similar statement.

The two exchanges cited Korea's Act on the Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information, a law that requires crypto exchanges to put in place know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) systems.

Korean exchanges have a history of delisting cryptocurrencies after making such warnings. The other two major South Korean exchanges, Korbit and Coinone, have not yet made any statements.

"You're a wizard, Harry."Mimblewimble is not just a tongue-tying spell used in the magical series, but it's also a privacy-oriented decentralized protocol that structures and stores transactions on the blockchain. https://t.co/XCpNlb5AiD

MimbleWimble upgrade concept was first proposed almost two and a half years ago. The new upgrade was released earlier this year after a majority of nodes approved the MimbleWimble (MWEB) update, and will be able to interact with new MWEB privacy features. It was completed at Litecoin's block height of 2 million.

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The MimbleWimble Litecoin upgrade has been the