| Advertisement |
Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A South Korean man faces three years in prison after being convicted of purchasing illicit drugs online using his virtual currency savings. In addition to the three-year prison sentence, the defendant, who is in his 30s, faces four years of probation, News 1 reported Wednesday.
Advertisement
The man identified as "A" in the report, had purchased about 5 grams of methamphetamines online on May 28, 2017.
He had also used bitcoin to buy "70 LSD adhesives" and other psychotropic drugs.
For the order, he paid 0.092341 bitcoin, or $200.
The defendant then paid $640 worth of bitcoin in six installments to pay for 30.89 grams of methamphetamines and 175 LSD adhesives.
The verdict from the Ulsan regional court highlighted South Korea's rigorous laws against recreational drugs.
"Drug crimes have a serious negative impact on the society as a whole, and strict punishment is inevitable. Drug imports are especially dangerous because the domestic supply and distribution can increase, and the amount of drugs imported by the defendant is not insignificant," the verdict read.
The court also said the defendant did not appear to be trying to sell or redistribute the drugs.
South Korea's crypto currency exchanges have faced obstacles after launching operations.
Forbes recently reported UPbit, the biggest crypto exchange in South Korea, is storing 100 percent of its bitcoin and cryptocurrency balance sheet, after local authorities raided the exchange in May.
The move has restored some confidence in virtual currency exchanges in the country, according to the report.
Regulators were concerned UPbit's balance sheet was being manipulated.
