South Korea has moved to end a nine‑year ban on corporate cryptocurrency investments, clearing a path for listed companies and professional investors to gain regulated exposure to digital assets for the first time since 2017.
What South Korea Has Changed
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has finalized guidelines that allow publicly listed firms and registered professional investment institutions to trade cryptocurrencies under strict conditions. The rules follow years of prohibitions that began in 2017, when authorities blocked institutional participation over concerns about money laundering, speculative excess, and financial crime.
Under the new framework, eligible companies can allocate up to 5% of their equity capital to digital assets each year. Investments must focus on the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization listed on Korea’s five major exchanges, and exchanges must apply staggered execution and order‑size limits.
Key Limits and Timeline
Regulators expect roughly 3,500 entities, including listed corporations and licensed professional investors, to qualify once the rules take effect.
Trading plans to begin after the issuance of final guidance between January and February and aligned with a broader Digital Asset Basic Act, with full corporate participation targeted by the end of 2026.
The status of dollar‑pegged stablecoins such as USDT remains unresolved, with officials still debating whether these assets will be included in the investable universe.
Authorities have indicated that any expansion beyond the current 5% ceiling or the top‑20 restriction will depend on market behavior under the new regime and on the effectiveness of user‑protection rules, such as the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.
Position in Global Crypto Policy
The decision aligns South Korea with jurisdictions such as the United States, Hong Kong, and Canada, where corporate and institutional crypto trading has become a feature of mainstream markets.
The move also complements Seoul’s “2026 Economic Growth Strategy,” which includes work on stablecoin legislation and potential approvals for spot crypto exchange‑traded funds to channel institutional capital into the sector.
Industry groups welcome the end of the ban but argue the 5% cap is too conservative compared with markets that set no specific quantitative limits on corporate crypto holdings.
Critics warn that tight restrictions could constrain the emergence of dedicated digital‑asset treasury strategies even as South Korea works to reassert itself as a regional hub for blockchain and crypto innovation.
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