The Seoul Central District Court has officially rejected a provisional injunction filed by the Flow Foundation and Dapper Labs intended to block the delisting of the FLOW token from major South Korean trading platforms. The legal challenge sought to suspend the termination of trading support by three of the nation’s prominent digital asset exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone. Despite the legal effort, the court upheld the exchanges' right to delist the asset, resulting in the cessation of FLOW trading on these platforms as of March 16, 2026, at 3:00 PM local time.
Judicial Ruling Favors Investor Protection
The court’s decision centered on the evaluation of security risks and the autonomy of cryptocurrency exchanges in managing their listed assets. According to the ruling, the evidence provided by the Flow Foundation was insufficient to justify an emergency suspension of the delisting. The judiciary emphasized that the exchanges' assessment regarding unresolved security vulnerabilities—stemming from a hacking incident in February—was not "clearly erroneous."
- The court prioritized the protection of potential investors over the commercial interests of the project developers.
- The decision acknowledges the technical concerns raised by the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) members regarding the network's integrity.
- Judges ruled that private trading platforms maintain the right to set safety standards for the digital assets they host.
Context of the FLOW Network Security Incident
The move to delist the token follows a hacking incident in February that raised significant alarms within the South Korean crypto community. While the Flow Foundation attempted to mitigate the fallout through legal channels, the country's "Big Three" exchanges determined that the risks to users remained too high to maintain liquidity for the asset. Flow is a layer-1 blockchain originally designed by Dapper Labs, known for its focus on NFTs and decentralized gaming ecosystem.
The court prioritized the protection of potential investors, ruling that the exchanges' judgment regarding unresolved risks is not clearly erroneous.
Despite the removal from Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, the FLOW token remains available for trading on Korbit, another major South Korean exchange that did not join the immediate delisting mandate. This creates a fragmented regulatory environment for the asset within the region, as the local crypto industry continues to tighten its oversight following a series of high-profile security breaches. Market participants are advised to monitor official announcements from the remaining platforms regarding any further changes to trading status.
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