Bithumb, a major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, is moving forward with trading restrictions for its employees by banning its staff from trading on its platform.

According to an official announcement on Friday, Bithumb will be completely to prohibit its employees to buy or sell crypto using a Bithumb account starting this month.

The restriction is aimed at strengthening internal regulations and improving the transparency of transactions on the Bithumb exchange, the company said. As part of the move, staff members have already sent written statements regarding account withdrawals last month. In addition, the exchange will implement a permanent monitoring system including self-audits and an internal reporting system, notes the announcement.

The latest move follows a series of staff-related restrictions on Bithumb, including a ban on bargaining during working hours and the like. Bithumb noted that the company also implemented a number of personnel-related measures to prevent data leaks, unfair trading practices and market manipulation years ago.

A spokesperson for Bithumb denied providing any additional information about this to Cointelegraph.

The news comes as South Korea continues to toughen its stance on regulating local crypto firms, increasing the scope of oversight of the country’s crypto exchange market.

Related: South Korean crypto exchanges banned from handling coins they themselves issued

The South Korean government has set a deadline for registering cryptocurrency exchanges with local financial authorities until September 2021. In March, the FSC changed its financial reporting rules, requiring that crypto exchanges – Currency submit regular transaction reports with the Financial Intelligence Unit as well as set up real name accounts at Korean banks.

According to local reports, smaller South Korean stock exchanges are considering suing the government for its alleged failure to take responsibility for excessive regulatory pressure.