TechFlow news, October 16 — According to the Korea Economic Daily, South Korean lawmaker Min Byeong-deuk plans to criticize the AVAIL token during the upcoming parliamentary audit, referring to it as the "second hamburger coin." The term "hamburger coin" refers to foreign cryptocurrencies listed on Korean exchanges that often present regulatory loopholes and investor protection concerns. Lawmaker Min has requested financial regulators to provide data on suspicious trading activities involving the AVAIL token on cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. He is investigating the token’s sharp price surge after listing, potential price manipulation, and the effectiveness of investor protection measures at exchanges.
AVAIL was listed on Bithumb on July 23, 2024. Within 15 minutes of listing, its price surged by 1,380%, rising from 263 won to 3,500 won, before plummeting back to 296 won within 24 hours—sparking strong backlash from investors. Beyond abnormal price volatility, AVAIL is also suspected of being involved in overseas money laundering. An X (formerly Twitter) user named "yieldfarming" has been accused of conducting trades on behalf of foreign investors who cannot access Korean exchanges, raising controversy over proxy trading and laundering of overseas funds.
Min Byeong-deuk's office stated: "The issues of price manipulation and proxy trading revealed by the Bithumb and AVAIL incident reflect the shared responsibility of exchanges and financial regulators for neglecting investor protection. We will pursue penalties stipulated under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, as well as violations related to real-name account requirements for suspicious accounts." During last year’s national legislative inspection, Min had also criticized circulation issues surrounding "hamburger coins" such as SUI, as well as exchanges’ indifferent attitude toward investor losses, emphasizing the need to protect domestic virtual asset investors.
