S Korean Regulator Denies Reports Claiming It Is About to Let Companies Buy Crypto

The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) has denied reports claiming it is about to let companies buy crypto using their balance sheets.

Per Hanguk Kyungjae, the FSC told media representatives the reports were “not true.”

Will Regulator Let South Korean Companies Buy Crypto?

Reports circulated at the start of the month claiming that the FSC was prepared to allow universities and schools to trade donations made in crypto for fiat.

This, the reports claimed, would represent the first step on a roadmap. This same roadmap would eventually allow South Korean firms to buy coins like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), they added.

[Press Release] The Financial Services Commission held a meeting to review business financing conditions and response strategies with officials from policy financial institutions and related businesses on December 19. https://t.co/QtSVRIB88h

— Financial Services Commission – FSC Korea (@FSC_Korea) December 19, 2024

The reports also claimed that the FSC would let “ordinary” firms buy crypto before the banking sector.

“We are still discussing whether we will allow corporations [to buy and sell crypto]. The reports are not true. The Financial Services Commission’s Virtual Assets Division has not confirmed anything about this matter.”

South Korean Financial Services Commission spokesperson

South Korean law does not explicitly prevent firms from holding crypto. However, to trade BTC, ETH, and altcoins, private individuals need to open crypto exchange-linked bank accounts.

The regulator’s guidelines instruct financial institutions to reject all such applications from corporate clients.

South Korea aims to issue its first won-denominated foreign-exchange stabilization debt in more than two decades next month, according to a finance ministry official with direct knowledge of the plan https://t.co/Wu0tz7iRD3

— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) December 23, 2024

Bitcoin ETF Approval Facing Further Delay?

The earlier reports claimed that government ministries, local government organs, universities, and charities would be allowed to sell off any crypto they hold “in the first half of 2025.”

Some South Korean companies are furious. They claim they have been left behind by their international rivals in the US and Japan.

American firms like MicroStrategy and Japanese companies like Remixpoint have built up considerable Bitcoin reserves in recent years.

However, the FSC has refused to allow South Korean companies to do likewise. It has claimed that further discussion is required beforehand.

The same FSC spokesperson also denied reports that the regulator had scheduled a timeframe for approving crypto spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The official also said these reports were “completely groundless,” adding:

“We have not discussed the timing of the launch of virtual asset ETFs.”

💰 Crypto hackers from North Korea stole $1.3 billion in funds in 2024, new data released this week from Chainalysis shows.#NorthKorea #CryptoHackershttps://t.co/TQYgKiaQ22

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) December 20, 2024

‘Huge Demand’

Other media outlets, citing anonymous sources, have claimed the FSC is still consulting with “ministries, organizations, and private experts” before deciding on new crypto regulations.

They believe the FSC is hesitant about allowing companies to buy and hold crypto. They think regulators are concerned that approval would drive up the already high demand for crypto exchange and crypto custody services.

Earlier this month, Kim Seo-jun, the CEO of the blockchain accelerator Hashed, spoke of “a huge institutional demand for Bitcoin ETFs” in South Korea and beyond.