Crypto: South Korea Lifts 9-year Corporate Crypto Ban: What The Policy...

South Korea reopens crypto to corporations with strict caps and asset limits. This is part of a broader strategy that includes stablecoin legislation and potential spot crypto ETFs.

South Korea is ending a nine-year ban on corporate crypto trading, allowing listed entities and professional investment companies to reenter the market under a regulated framework.

Corporate participation will be tightly controlled, with investments capped at 5% of annual equity capital and limited to the top 20 cryptocurrencies traded on regulated domestic exchanges.

Institutional entry may gradually improve liquidity and market structure, but strict limits mean large capital inflows from corporate treasuries are unlikely in the short term.

Compared with the US, the EU, Japan and Hong Kong, South Korea is taking a more cautious path by allowing access while restricting scale to manage systemic and reputational risks.

After a nine-year break, South Korea is set to reintegrate corporations into its cryptocurrency market. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has established new protocols allowing listed entities and professional firms to resume trading, effectively terminating the 2017 prohibition.

This move is part of the government’s ambitious “2026 Economic Growth Strategy,” which aims to transform the nation into a premier digital hub by introducing stablecoin laws and paving the way for spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

This article explores what led to the ban on corporate trading in South Korea, what the new guidelines facilitate and how this step will transform South Korea’s crypto market. It also examines the risks South Korean regulators are confronting and compares South Korea’s corporate crypto trading policy with those of other countries.

In 2017, South Korea prohibited institutional involvement in crypto markets due to a surge in retail speculation. Regulators were concerned about the risks of money laundering, market manipulation and threats to financial stability. Authorities restricted corporations and professional investors from participating while allowing retail crypto trading under stringent compliance requirements.

This policy distinctly shaped South Korea’s crypto market. Retail investors eventually dominated trading activity, whereas local institutions remained largely excluded from a rapidly expanding asset class. Gradually, this situation also drove capital flows abroad, with Korean investors and companies pursuing exposure via overse

Source: CoinTelegraph