Why Korean Exchanges Are Delisting OMG Network and Serum

OMG Network (OMG) and Serum (SRM) will be jointly delisted from South Korean exchanges that are a part of the digital asset exchange joint consultative body.

Upbit, the largest exchange by traded value, said in a release that the networks were not operating normally.

Problems With OMG Network and Serum

Upbit could suspend support for OMG Network (OMG) and Serum (SRM) by April 26. It will put an end to services like hard forks, wallet upgrades, and airdrops.

According to the exchange, both networks were performing strangely and had trouble confirming regular block production. Upbit stated that the company chose to stop providing transaction support as the activity indicated that the projects had ended.

The translated release note, “Members of the digital asset exchange joint consultative body (DAXA) are reviewing the digital assets that are supported for trading, monitoring the market status, and continuously taking measures to protect investors through prompt provision of information and response in the event of a crisis situation that requires investor attention.”

Withdrawal support will be available for 30 days, or until May 26, after the transaction support for the digital asset is terminated on Upbit. 

After the Terra crisis in 2022, the main five cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea formed the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA). Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax make up the alliance.

Tokens Remain Muted After Delisting

Crunchbase notes Singapore-based OMG Network (formerly OmiseGo) launched as financial inclusion and interoperability network in 2013. Over the course of six investment rounds, the platform raised $25 million. This included an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.

At the time of writing, OMG is trading just under $1.40 after losing around 9.3% in value in the last 24 hours. The token has lost a similar fraction in the past week and witnessed a cumulative fall of 22.5% in the past 14 days.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-based Serum platform has served as a decentralized exchange (DEX) since 2020. Over five rounds, Serum raised $120 million in investment, as per Crunchbase figures. Early in 2022, they received a round of cash from an initial coin offering.

The Serum token (SRM), which gives its holders governance rights, is trading under $0.20 at press time. According to CoinGecko, it has gained around 4% in the last 24 hours, ignoring the news around South Korean delisting. However, the token decreased by approximately 8% in the previous week.

The DEX was also backed by FTX, whose collapse created trouble for Serum, despite initiating a community fork. The week had wiped off more than 70% of SRM’s value.

Serum, which is based on Solana, has a total value locked of just $19.1 million on its network, according to DefiLlama.