TL;DR
- South Korea’s financial watchdog upgrades its AI system (VISTA) to automatically detect potential crypto price manipulation.
- An exhaustive sliding-window search technique identifies suspicious periods without prior manual input.
- A budget is allocated for new features, including identifying coordinated account networks and tracing fund origins.
The Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea (FSS) expanded the use of artificial intelligence to monitor digital asset markets, marking a shift toward automated data-driven enforcement as trading activity becomes more complex.
On Monday, the FSS announced it upgraded its Virtual Assets Intelligence System for Trading Analysis (VISTA), a model used to investigate unfair crypto trading. An automated detection algorithm was added that can identify potential price manipulation periods without manual intervention.
The agency explained the new algorithm employs a sliding-window grid search technique to examine every possible sub-period within a trading dataset. The approach enables exhaustive analysis of manipulation windows that investigators previously had to identify manually.
Performance tests on completed investigation cases showed the system detected all previously identified manipulation periods, while also flagging additional suspicious intervals difficult to spot with traditional analysis.
Allocated Budget and Planned Improvements
The FSS secured a budget of 170 million won ($116,000) for 2026 earmarked for additional AI performance upgrades, with capabilities to be rolled out in different stages through the end of 2026.
Planned upgrades include tools to automatically identify networks of coordinated trading accounts, analyze abnormal trading-related text across thousands of crypto assets, and trace the origin of funds used in manipulation.
The AI surveillance system upgrade aligns with the regulator’s goal to enhance enforcement capabilities in the crypto space. On January 6th, local outlet Newsis reported the Financial Services Commission (FSC) was considering a payment suspension system that would block transactions before suspects can launder ill-gotten gains.
The country’s crypto surveillance push also accompanies broader efforts to expand AI-based monitoring across South Korea’s capital markets. On Monday, the FSC announced the Korea Exchange will begin operating an AI-driven market monitoring system to strengthen early detection of stock price manipulation.
Automated models now scan crypto trading activity across multiple timeframes, reducing reliance on manual investigations and enabling faster response to potential fraudulent schemes.
