South Korea | Crypto

The collaboration will explore card-linked merchant payments for Japanese visitors in South Korea and peer-to-peer wallet transfers among broader cross-border trade remittances.

Finance officials are reportedly set to meet major crypto exchanges on Tuesday, days after a lawmaker introduced legislation that could push the tax’s start date back two years. South Korea’s senior finance officials are reportedly set to meet crypto exchanges on Tuesday as calls to postpone a planned cryptocurrency tax are heating up ahead of its scheduled implementation in January. According to Yonhap, the government is planning to hold a consultation on crypto taxation, with representatives coming from Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, DigitalX and Gopax, along with executives of the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance, known as DAXA. Government officials attending include Kwon Dae-young, first vice minister of finance and economy, and Yoo Young-jun, director general for digital financial policy at the Financial Services Commission. Read more

South Korea is proposing tougher cybersecurity assessments after a review identified security deficiencies at 130 financial firms. South Korea is planning tighter cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions after an investigation into earlier security incidents involving 16 companies, including crypto exchanges.  The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it would pursue improved threat monitoring, more frequent security assessments and stronger accountability for executives after an industry-wide review found cybersecurity deficiencies at 130 of 555 financial companies.  The FSC said about 100,000 pieces of customer information had been exposed across the affected firms, including names, contact details and identification numbers.  Read more

Bitcoin rebounded above $83,000 on Tuesday despite a sharp Asian stock selloff, as cryptocurrency liquidations exceeded $800 million. BTC recovered after briefly slipping below $81,000, while semiconductor shares continued a deepening rout that sent South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index down 6%. South Korea's AI stock collapse exposes concentrated market risks Reports noted that South Korea's… Read the full story on CryptoSlate Understand the crypto stories that matter and what to watch next. Get The Catalyst in your inbox

The October 12 amendment standardizes court-led debt recovery, with separate procedures for exchange claims and directly held crypto. The post South Korea clears way for courts to seize and sell Bitcoin for unpaid debts under new November rules appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Authorities said the restrictions are aimed at unregistered exchanges and have acknowledged that customers could have difficulty withdrawing assets. South Korean authorities have approved measures to block domestic access to 27 websites operated by unregistered crypto exchanges and other virtual asset service providers, including KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex and Bitrue.  In an announcement on Tuesday, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) said the decision followed reviews by the Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission on Oct. 6 and 7.  The list also includes CoinW, BTCC, BitMart, BingX, DigiFinex and others. The block applies to crypto platforms that have not registered under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, the country’s anti-money laundering legislation. Read more

The LG CNS partnership gives Securitize a foothold as the Seoul prepares new rules for tokenized stocks, bonds and funds beginning in February 2027. Shares of tokenization platform Securitize rallied sharply on Tuesday after the company announced a partnership with South Korean technology company LG CNS as the country prepares to introduce a new framework for tokenized securities. Securitize (SECZ) rose nearly 8% in early Tuesday trading to around $12.60, outperforming most major crypto-linked stocks, before pulling back later in the morning. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in July after completing its merger with special purpose acquisition company Cantor Equity Partners II. Read more

South Korean crypto exchange operating profits fell 78% in the first half of 2026 as trading volumes, market capitalization and customer deposits declined. South Korean crypto exchanges saw operating profits fall 78% in the first half of 2026 as trading activity, market valuations and customer deposits declined, according to new government data.  On Thursday, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) said average daily trading volume at domestic virtual asset exchanges fell 44% from the previous six months, while market capitalization dropped 33% and won-denominated deposits fell 35%. Exchange sales declined 41% over the same period, even as the number of accounts eligible to trade rose slightly by 0.4%. KoFIU’s survey covered 26 registered virtual asset service providers, including 17 exchange operators and nine custody and wallet providers, and covered activity from Jan. 1 through June 30. Read more

South Korea’s financial regulator proposed detailed rules for tokenized securities, including capital requirements, OTC trading licenses and retail investment limits. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has proposed detailed regulations for issuing and trading tokenized securities as the country’s regulatory framework is set to take effect in February 2027. The changes would allow stocks, bonds, funds and certain fractional investment securities to be issued and circulated in tokenized form.  The proposal also introduces requirements for companies issuing and managing tokenized securities. Under the proposed changes, companies issuing tokenized securities while directly managing customer accounts would need at least 4 billion Korean won ($2.8 million) in equity capital and dedicated compliance and technology staff.  Read more

Crypto market making is effectively restricted under South Korea’s manipulation rules, but regulators are reconsidering the approach after a JPYC spiked on Upbit this month. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said it is considering a market-making system for digital assets, after a stablecoin linked to the value of the Japanese yen traded for as much as four times its peg on a major South Korean crypto exchange earlier this month.  Crypto exchange Upbit opened trading of JPYC, a yen-backed stablecoin, on Sept. 17, with the market opening at 12 Korean won per JPYC before reaching a high of 37.6 Korean won just an hour later, more than four times its market value. The spike was attributed to limited liquidity on Upbit.  “We will also review the need to introduce systems such as market-making activities to increase the efficiency and stability of the digital asset landscape,” Yoo Young-joon, director of digital finance policy at the FSC, said at a conference in Seoul on Monday, Digital Asset reported. “...

South Korea's second-largest bank’s $100 million foreign-currency bond blockchain issuance shortened settlement time to the same day from three to five business days.

South Korean police reportedly referred 18 Polymarket users to prosecutors in a gambling probe involving 26 people and $12.7 million in bets. South Korean police have reportedly referred 18 Polymarket users to prosecutors in an illegal gambling investigation involving 26 people who collectively wagered about 17.6 billion won (worth $12.7 million).  According to Asia Economy, data submitted by the National Police Agency to the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Kun-young showed that the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency had placed 26 people under investigation as of Tuesday and sent 18 of them to prosecutors. The report said the largest amount wagered by a single user was about 5.7 billion won ($4.1 million). Police identified users by analyzing publicly available blockchain transactions, the report said. Polymarket lets users buy and sell contracts tied to the outcomes of real-world events and operates on a noncustodial, peer-to-peer structure with automated settlement. It does not maintain a conventiona...

XRP briefly outpaced Bitcoin on South Korean exchanges with a 273% volume surge. Here's the price analysis, key levels, and what it means for traders. The post XRP Price Prediction: Ripple Edges Bitcoin In South Korea appeared first on Cryptonews.

Following a deal with Shinhan Financial, the global payments giant is widening its footprint in Asia’s major crypto hub through South Korea's largest exchange.

The Korea Media and Communications Commission said Polymarket’s structure and operations amount to illegal gambling despite its noncustodial design and smart contracts. South Korean authorities have ordered access to Polymarket to be blocked after determining that the crypto prediction market provides an illegal gambling environment to users in the country. The country’s media and communications review commission said Tuesday that Polymarket falls under information that facilitates gambling or the opening of a gambling venue under the Criminal Act, as well as prohibited analogous betting activity under the National Sports Promotion Act. The regulator said Polymarket’s winner-takes-all structure, where users can gain or lose money based on outcomes including politics, sports and weather, encourages speculative gambling behavior. It also cited Polymarket’s role in operating markets, setting trading rules, providing crypto deposit, withdrawal and settlement systems and collecting transaction fees. Read more

Ripple is bringing its cross-border payments platform to Jeonbuk Bank, but key details including its launch status and settlement asset remain undisclosed. South Korea’s Jeonbuk Bank has partnered with blockchain payments company Ripple to deploy its cross-border payment system for business customers. On Tuesday, Ripple said its Ripple Payments platform would let the bank’s customers settle overseas transfers in seconds to minutes, with operations around the clock. The service targets businesses including import-export companies, technology startups and online content creators.  Ripple said its system would provide the bank with faster, less expensive remittance capabilities than conventional transfers routed through intermediary banks via the SWIFT messaging network, which can take several days.  Read more

More than a year after being indicted on fraud charges related to his activities at crypto company Delio, Jeong Sang-ho faces prison time in South Korea. A judge in South Korea reportedly sentenced Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty of defrauding users out of about $50 million in crypto.  According to a Thursday report from South Korean news outlet Newsis, the 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Jeong after his conviction on charges related to embezzlement and the use of a false trading license, but the CEO received no detention for defrauding users of $175 million. “While operating Delio, [Jeong] falsely obtained a virtual asset trading license and defrauded victims of approximately 70 billion won [$49.3 million] in virtual assets,” said the court, adding:  Read more

South Korea will remove its 1 million won Travel Rule threshold and apply information-sharing requirements to all transfers between registered crypto service providers. South Korea will expand its crypto Travel Rule to all transfers between registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs), removing the current 1 million won (about $700) threshold. The country’s Cabinet approved amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information on Tuesday. Under the changes, the Travel Rule will apply to all transfers between registered crypto service providers regardless of value. Receiving platforms will also be required to obtain sender and recipient information and may request missing information or reject transactions when required data is unavailable. Read more

Civil creditors could compel custodians to freeze, disclose, transfer, swap and sell debtors’ assets if the rules advance. The post South Korea puts crypto exchanges on a seven-day clock under new seizure rules appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Policy report recommends interim licensing guidance, greater flexibility for stablecoin issuers and rules ahead of the Digital Asset Basic Act. South Korea should allow greater flexibility for stablecoin issuers, provide interim licensing guidance and phase in stablecoin regulation before completing its Digital Asset Basic Act, according to a policy report published Wednesday by Hashed Open Research and the Solana Policy Institute. The report summarizes a June 23 symposium attended by lawmakers, legal experts and industry participants. The Digital Asset Basic Act would establish South Korea’s first comprehensive digital asset framework, covering stablecoins, issuance, disclosures and market rules. However, lawmakers have yet to reconcile multiple bills, with disagreements over stablecoin issuance delaying the legislation. Read more