South Korea advances crypto access for 3,500 companies

South Korea has superior a three-part digital-finance program masking crypto accounts for about 3,500 companies, authorized recognition for tokenized securities, and deposit-token trials involving 9 banks.

FACTBLOCK CEO and Korea Blockchain Week organizer Andrew Park said South Korea’s crypto market is shifting away from its lengthy reliance on retail buying and selling as monetary establishments give attention to custody, tokenization, stablecoins, settlement techniques and regulatory compliance.

The change covers three linked areas of economic exercise. Company buyers are getting ready to enter the crypto market underneath Monetary Companies Fee guidelines, securities corporations are constructing techniques for tokenized property, and the Financial institution of Korea is testing digital financial institution deposits that may carry programmable fee circumstances.

South Korea prepares crypto accounts for 3,500 companies

Underneath a roadmap launched by the Monetary Companies Fee in February 2025, South Korea deliberate to let about 2,500 listed companies and roughly 1,000 companies registered as skilled buyers open real-name financial institution accounts linked to crypto exchanges.

Monetary companies had been excluded from the group, whereas access for the eligible companies was designed as a managed pilot slightly than unrestricted participation.

Since 2017, Korean companies have been unable to commerce digital property by means of native exchanges as a result of banks haven’t offered the required real-name accounts. Though the restriction was not written as a direct statutory ban, the account guidelines successfully saved company cash out of the market.

The FSC first opened restricted account access to nonprofit organizations, universities, law-enforcement companies, and crypto exchanges. Eligible establishments may promote digital property acquired by means of donations, legal seizures, or trade charges, however the first stage didn’t enable normal funding.

Listed companies and registered skilled buyers fashioned the second group within the FSC’s roadmap as a result of the regulator thought-about them higher geared up to evaluate funding threat. Officers additionally cited company demand for blockchain companies and digital-asset investments when selecting the pilot individuals.

Subsequent pointers thought-about an annual funding ceiling equal to five% of an organization’s fairness capital, in line with Korean media experiences. Eligible purchases could be restricted to the 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market worth throughout South Korea’s 5 main exchanges, though regulators had been nonetheless contemplating whether or not dollar-backed stablecoins comparable to Tether’s USDT ought to qualify.

Company access additionally creates demand for regulated custody. On Aug. 18, BitGo Korea secured VASP registration from the Korea Monetary Intelligence Unit, permitting the corporate to develop crypto custody and switch companies for establishments and companies.

Hana Monetary Group owns 25% of BitGo Korea, whereas SK Telecom holds 10%. BitGo has not disclosed a service launch date, supported property, custody charges, or named purchasers.

Tokenized securities enter South Korean legislation

Alongside company crypto access, South Korea has established a authorized route for issuing and buying and selling tokenized securities.

The Nationwide Meeting handed amendments to the Digital Securities Act and Capital Markets Act on Jan. 15, 2026. The measures had been promulgated on Feb. 3 and are scheduled to take impact on Feb. 4, 2027, in line with a authorized abstract from Kim & Chang.

Underneath the amended Digital Securities Act, distributed ledgers can function legally acknowledged information for securities issuance. Issuers should observe registration procedures involving the Korea Securities Depository, slightly than treating blockchain information as a separate and unregulated possession system.

Adjustments to the Capital Markets Act additionally convey investment-contract securities and fractional funding merchandise into the regulated market. Licensed intermediaries will have the ability to deal with distribution, whereas over-the-counter buying and selling will function underneath guidelines ready by monetary authorities.

Infrastructure work has proceeded earlier than the legislation takes impact. As crypto.information reported in May, Samsung SDS gained a contract to show the Korea Securities Depository’s check system right into a production-ready token-securities platform.

KSD expects the system to attach distributed-ledger knowledge with its present digital securities accounts. The deliberate features embrace issuance information, circulation checks, rights administration and real-time monitoring of token volumes, with completion anticipated by February 2027.

In August, Shinhan Financial institution and Plume additionally began an offshore proof of concept involving a won-denominated tokenized fund backed by ultra-short-term bonds. The check excludes Korean residents and won’t concern or distribute tokens, however the companies are analyzing whitelist controls, know-your-customer checks, anti-money-laundering procedures, and onchain operations earlier than the home legislation begins.

For U.S. readers, the Korean construction differs in administration however follows the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee’s place that placing a monetary instrument on a blockchain doesn’t take away it from securities legislation. In a January 2026 employees assertion, the SEC divided tokenized securities into issuer-backed and third-party fashions and stated market individuals should want registrations, proposals or regulatory aid.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce beforehand stated “tokenized securities are nonetheless securities,” including that distributors, consumers and buying and selling platforms should take into account federal disclosure and market guidelines. South Korea’s framework equally locations tokenized devices inside its present securities system, with KSD dealing with formal registration.

Undertaking Hangang expands deposit-token testing

The Financial institution of Korea has developed a separate fee layer by means of Undertaking Hangang, which mixes wholesale central-bank cash with deposit tokens issued by business banks.

Deposit tokens are digital variations of financial institution deposits slightly than cryptocurrencies issued immediately by the central financial institution to shoppers. Taking part banks concern the tokens to clients, whereas tokenized central-bank cash settles transfers between the banks.

Throughout Part I, which started in April 2025, about 80,000 of the 100,000 invited customers opened wallets. Contributors accomplished roughly 118,000 fee transactions, though the whole worth remained under 700 million gained.

In March 2026, the Financial institution of Korea launched Phase II with 9 banks, including BNK Kyongnam Financial institution and iM Financial institution to KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, NH Nonghyup, IBK Industrial Financial institution and BNK Busan Financial institution.

Part II consists of person-to-person transfers, biometric fee approval, and automated conversion between peculiar deposits and deposit tokens. The central financial institution can be extending digital vouchers and testing programmable controls on authorities spending.

Electrical-vehicle charging infrastructure grants and public-sector working bills are among the many first public-payment makes use of. Fee circumstances can limit which recipient spends the funds, the place the cash is accepted, and the way lengthy it stays obtainable, in line with the Financial institution of Korea.

A separate 9.6 billion gained, or roughly $6.9 million, deposit-token payment program started in July underneath the Korea Web & Safety Company and the Ministry of Science and ICT. 9 banks, eight fee companies, and two main retailers joined the consortium led by the Korea Monetary Telecommunications and Clearings Institute.

This system will join deposit tokens with present fee networks, permitting retailers to course of transactions with out changing all their terminals. Taking part companies stated the check would study whether or not the system can decrease processing charges for small companies.

AI brokers acquire a programmable fee methodology

Undertaking Hangang’s technical work has additionally coated funds initiated by AI brokers.

LG CNS demonstrated an agentic fee service in January 2026 utilizing deposit tokens on the Financial institution of Korea’s infrastructure. Underneath the mannequin, an AI agent can search for a services or products, examine user-defined circumstances, and full a fee by means of a tokenized financial institution deposit.

The Financial institution of Korea stated it might proceed finding out deposit tokens as a fee methodology for AI-agent companies and as settlement cash for tokenized bonds and shares. As a result of fee circumstances may be written into the system, a transaction can execute solely after a specified motion or market situation happens.

On the European Central Financial institution Discussion board in July, Financial institution of Korea Governor Hyun Tune Shin stated “the massive prize is tokenizing authorities bonds.” Shin described a unified ledger the place tokenized bonds, commercial-bank deposit tokens, and wholesale central-bank cash may function on the identical platform.

The central financial institution has additionally linked Undertaking Hangang with the Financial institution for Worldwide Settlements’ Undertaking Agorá. In 2026, South Korea accomplished exams linking its digital-currency system with the cross-border platform, together with real-value transactions utilizing tokenized central-bank reserves throughout six currencies.