South Korea: crypto and stablecoin regulation (as of 1 November 2026)

As of 2026-11-01

South Korea regulates crypto exchanges and wallet providers as virtual asset service providers (VASPs). They must register with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and the Virtual Asset User Protection Act sets custody and market-abuse rules. There is no legal regime for KRW stablecoins yet. The regulators are the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the FIU, which is part of the FSC.

This page states what the government sources say. It is not legal advice. For Korean-language detail, see the achivx.kr overview of Korean crypto regulation.

Status as of 1 November 2026

Status	Rule	Since / from	Source
In force	VASPs must register with the FIU under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (특정금융정보법). 28 VASPs were registered on 30 June 2026.	25 March 2021	FSC, FSC
In force	Virtual Asset User Protection Act (가상자산 이용자 보호 등에 관한 법률). Later edits were technical, made by other laws (latest in force 2 October 2026).	19 July 2024	law.go.kr, Korea.kr
In force	Stricter registration under amendment No. 21358: major-shareholder vetting and conditional registration.	20 August 2026	law.go.kr
In force	Travel rule for transfers of KRW 1,000,000 or more between VASPs.	25 March 2022	law.go.kr
Pending	The travel rule applies to transfers of any amount (Decree No. 36592).	19 February 2027	law.go.kr
In force	Exchanges carry the same duties as financial institutions (금융회사등) under the telecom-fraud refund act (Act No. 21503): account freezes and victim refunds, which can be paid in crypto.	1 October 2026	law.go.kr
Pending	VASPs that move crypto across the border must register with the Minister of Economy and Finance (Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Act No. 21714).	3 December 2026	law.go.kr
Not law	No legal regime for KRW stablecoins. On 26 August 2026 the FSC said the government's bill was still being prepared.	—	FSC, FSC

Key rules

Registration, not a licence. A VASP files a registration (신고) with the FIU. The FIU may reject a filing without ISMS certification or a real-name bank account, or where there are convictions within 5 years under financial and other listed laws. Since 20 August 2026 the debt ratio must not exceed 200%, there may be no defaults in 3 years, and criminal-record checks cover major shareholders. (law.go.kr, Korea.kr)
Real-name bank account. KRW can move only between the VASP's account and the customer's account at the same financial institution. (FSC, law.go.kr)
Customer KRW deposits are kept with a bank at 100% or more of the total and invested only in safe assets such as government or local bonds. (law.go.kr)
Cold storage: at least 80% of the economic value of customer assets (Supervisory Regulation Art. 9(1); the decree sets a floor of 70%). Hot-wallet cover: insurance, mutual aid or a reserve of at least 5% of non-cold assets and at least KRW 3 billion (Art. 10(2)). (law.go.kr, decree)
Market abuse: insider trading, price manipulation and fraudulent trading are banned. Penalty: at least 1 year in prison or a fine of 3 to 5 times the illegal gain, plus an FSC penalty of up to twice the gain. (FSC)
Operating without registration is punishable by up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 50 million. (FSC)
Unregistered foreign exchanges: a foreign exchange that targets Korean users without registering operates illegally. Registered VASPs may not deal with it, and buying from it by credit card is banned. On 13 October 2026 the FIU said the sites of 27 unregistered operators had been blocked and 44 operators referred to investigators in total. (FSC)
Stablecoins: there is no legal framework for a KRW stablecoin, and the FSC said on 4 March 2026 that the issuer model was under discussion. Asked about reports that issuers of foreign stablecoins such as USDT and USDC would have to open a Korean branch, the FSC said the phase-2 law's content had not been decided. (FSC, FSC)

Timeline

Date	Event	Source
25 March 2021	VASP registration under the 특정금융정보법 amendment comes into force	FSC
24 September 2021	Registration deadline for existing VASPs	FSC
25 March 2022	Travel rule in force for transfers of KRW 1 million or more	FSC
17 August 2022	FIU refers its first 16 unregistered foreign exchanges to investigators	FSC
30 June 2023	National Assembly passes the User Protection Act	FSC
19 July 2024	User Protection Act in force	Korea.kr
25 February 2025	FIU sanctions Dunamu (Upbit) with a 3-month partial suspension	FSC
5 September 2025	DAXA and FSC guideline on crypto lending	FSC
6 February 2026	Bithumb mis-credits BTC in a promotional payout; the FSC holds an emergency meeting on 7 February, and the FSC, FIU, FSS and DAXA form a task force on 8 February	FSC
19 February 2026	Amendment No. 21358 promulgated (in force 20 August 2026)	law.go.kr
4 March 2026	Virtual Asset Committee discusses the government's draft Digital Asset Act	FSC
17 March 2026	FIU announces sanctions on Bithumb: a 6-month partial suspension and a KRW 36.8 billion fine, subject to a comment period (the final amount is not in the sources)	FSC
6 April 2026	FSC plans to require, after the Bithumb mis-crediting incident, 5-minute balance reconciliation with a kill switch and a monthly external audit	FSC
2 June 2026	Foreign Exchange Transactions Act No. 21714 promulgated (in force 3 December 2026)	law.go.kr
15 July 2026	FSC targets the Digital Asset Act "within the year", including legal issuance of stablecoins	FSC, attachment
18 August 2026	Enforcement Decree No. 36592 promulgated	law.go.kr
1 October 2026	Telecom-fraud refund act applies to exchanges	law.go.kr
13 October 2026	FIU: sites of 27 unregistered operators blocked	FSC
3 December 2026	Cross-border crypto transfer business must register	law.go.kr
19 February 2027	Travel rule applies to all amounts	law.go.kr

Not covered here

A statute on crypto derivatives, the final outcome of the FSS sanction against Bithumb, the final amount of the FIU fine on Bithumb, and the text of the government's Digital Asset Act are not stated in the government sources this page uses.

Sources

Updated: 2026-11-01 · Markdown version