South Korea Opens Crypto Trading to 3,500 Companies in Landmark Shift

January 16, 2026 — South Korea has formally advanced a three-part digital-finance initiative that will allow approximately 3,500 corporations to open real-name crypto exchange accounts, marking the first significant institutional entry into the country’s digital asset market since 2017. The Financial Services Commission roadmap, unveiled in February 2025, designates roughly 2,500 listed companies and about 1,000 professional-investor corporations as eligible participants in a controlled pilot program. The move signals a strategic pivot away from South Korea’s historically retail-dominated crypto market.

Immediate Details & Direct Quotes

The Financial Services Commission’s phased approach targets corporate entities deemed capable of assessing investment risk. Listed companies and registered professional investors form the second eligibility group, following earlier access granted to nonprofits, universities, law-enforcement agencies and crypto exchanges.

Banks have not provided real-name accounts to corporations since 2017, effectively barring companies from trading virtual assets through local exchanges. While not a direct statutory ban, the account rules have kept institutional capital out of the market for nearly a decade.

South Korean media reports indicate subsequent guidelines may impose an annual investment ceiling equal to 5% of a company’s equity capital. Eligible purchases would reportedly be limited to the 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market value across the nation’s five major exchanges, though regulators are still evaluating whether dollar-backed stablecoins like Tether’s USDT should qualify.

“South Korea’s crypto market is moving away from its long reliance on retail trading as financial institutions focus on custody, tokenization, stablecoins, settlement systems and regulatory compliance,” said Andrew Park, CEO of FACTBLOCK and organizer of Korea Blockchain Week.

Corporate access has already stimulated demand for regulated custody services. BitGo Korea secured VASP registration from the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit on Aug. 18, enabling the company to develop institutional crypto custody and transfer services. Hana Financial Group holds 25% of BitGo Korea, while SK Telecom owns 10%.

Market Context & Reaction

Beyond corporate account access, South Korea has established legal recognition for tokenized securities. The National Assembly passed amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and Capital Markets Act on Jan. 15, 2026, with the measures promulgated Feb. 3 and scheduled to take effect Feb. 4, 2027.

The amended Electronic Securities Act allows distributed ledgers to serve as legally recognized records for securities issuance, with issuers required to follow registration procedures through the Korea Securities Depository. The Capital Markets Act changes bring investment-contract securities and fractional investment products into the regulated market, with licensed intermediaries handling distribution.

Infrastructure development is proceeding ahead of the legal effective date. Samsung SDS won a contract in May to convert the Korea Securities Depository’s test system into a production-ready token-securities platform, with completion expected by February 2027. Shinhan Bank and Plume began an offshore proof of concept in August involving a won-denominated tokenized fund backed by ultra-short-term bonds, examining whitelist controls and anti-money-laundering procedures.

The Bank of Korea has separately expanded Project Hangang, its deposit-token testing initiative, from seven banks to nine. Phase II, launched in March 2026, added BNK Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank to the existing participant list. The central bank is testing programmable controls on government spending, including electric-vehicle charging infrastructure grants and public-sector operating expenses.

Market reaction details were not immediately available, though the regulatory developments suggest significant structural changes ahead for South Korea’s crypto ecosystem.

Background & Historical Context

South Korea’s crypto market has operated under tight restrictions since 2017, when banking rules effectively prevented corporations from trading virtual assets. The Financial Services Commission’s February 2025 roadmap represented the first systematic attempt to open the market to institutional participation.

The corporate access pilot follows a first stage that permitted limited account access to nonprofit organizations, universities, law-enforcement agencies and crypto exchanges. Those entities could sell virtual assets received through donations, criminal seizures or exchange fees, but general investment was not allowed.

For U.S. readers, the Korean structure mirrors the SEC’s position that blockchain-based financial instruments remain subject to securities law. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce previously stated “tokenized securities are still securities,” noting that distributors, buyers and trading platforms must consider federal disclosure and market rules.

Project Hangang’s Phase I, which began in April 2025, saw about 80,000 of 100,000 invited users open wallets, completing approximately 118,000 payment transactions. The program now includes person-to-person transfers, biometric payment approval and automatic conversion between ordinary deposits and deposit tokens.

What This Means

Short-term implications include the gradual entry of corporate capital into South Korea’s crypto exchanges, potentially increasing trading volumes and liquidity for major cryptocurrencies. The 5% equity capital investment ceiling provides a controlled framework for institutional participation.

The tokenized-securities law, effective February 2027, creates a regulated pathway for blockchain-based financial instruments, with the Korea Securities Depository serving as the formal registration authority. Samsung SDS’s infrastructure work suggests the domestic tokenization market could become operational quickly after the legal framework activates.

Deposit-token testing under Project Hangang Phase II positions South Korea’s financial infrastructure for programmable payments, including AI-agent transactions. Bank of Korea Governor Hyun Song Shin highlighted “the big prize is tokenizing government bonds,” describing a unified ledger where tokenized bonds, commercial-bank deposit tokens and wholesale central-bank money could operate together.

Additional developments include a 9.6 billion won (approximately $6.9 million) deposit-token payment program launched in July under the Korea Internet & Security Agency, with nine banks, eight payment companies and two major merchants examining whether the system can lower processing fees for small businesses. The central bank has also completed tests linking its digital-currency system with the Bank for International Settlements’ Project Agorá, including real-value transactions across six currencies.

This information is not financial advice. Conduct your own research before making investment decisions.

—