Shin Jinwook, the CEO of defunct South Korean crypto exchange Bitsonic, has received an extension to his existing seven-year prison sentence after being found guilty of additional fraud amounting to at least 100 million won (approximately $72,000) as reported by Digital Assets.
Judge Seong Gi-jun of the 1st Criminal Division at the Daegu District Court’s Western Branch handed down the new verdict, confirming Shin’s involvement in manipulating Bitsonic Coin (BSC), the native token of the now-shuttered platform. Authorities say the scheme was designed to inflate the token’s value and trading volume, luring unsuspecting investors into the project.
[단독] ‘100억 사기’ 비트소닉 대표, 사기 혐의로 또 징역형https://t.co/pddYhgTLub
— DigitalAsset (@DGTL_ASSET) August 5, 2025
Despite sharing the BSC acronym with Binance Smart Chain, Bitsonic Coin had no affiliation with Binance. According to court findings, Shin used falsified Korean won entries and customer funds to execute buybacks of the token, artificially boosting its market price. He allegedly converted the manipulated assets into Bitcoin and Ethereum, later cashing out to fund investments in unrelated businesses.
The court determined that Shin defrauded users of at least 160 million won ($115,000) through false announcements and deceptive trading practices. The BSC token, now delisted, once had a maximum supply of 500 million, according to CoinGhecko.
This fresh sentencing follows Shin’s prior conviction in August 2023, where he received a seven-year sentence for embezzling 10 billion won (about $7.5 million) in customer funds and manipulating exchange data between January 2019 and May 2021.
Investigations revealed that Shin not only faked fiat deposits within the platform’s system but also fabricated partnerships with overseas exchanges to mislead investors. His fraudulent actions came to light when users were unable to withdraw their funds.
The operation was further aided by Bitsonic’s former VP of technology, identified only as Mr. A, who developed a program to inflate the token’s price through self-dealing. Mr. A has been sentenced to one year in prison for his role in the scheme.
Bitsonic’s case is part of a broader crackdown on crypto-related fraud in South Korea, where regulators recorded over 4 trillion won (around $3 billion) in suspicious crypto activity between 2017 and mid-2022.
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