A New Era for Investors

Roughly a year after establishing a cryptocurrency regulation framework, South Korea, a prominent economic power in the Asian region, has revealed its plan to expand its crypto trading landscape. Today, the Financial Services Commission, the top financial regulator of the country, has officially declared its decision to permit institutional investors to trade crypto in stages.

Charities and Universities Allowed to Sell Crypto: What about South Korean Crypto Exchanges?

Last month itself, the regulator hinted that it would revamp its crypto trading policy in favour of institutional players. Then, only retail traders were allowed to participate in crypto trading. 

As per FSC’s statement, charities and universities will be able to sell their crypto holdings received as donations from the second quarter of the year onwards. 

The statement hints that the South Korean regulator is also planning to permit the country’s crypto exchanges to exchange their crypto assets for cash to cover their operating costs.

Notably, the statement mentions that the regulator will establish a common sales guideline for operators to ensure they don’t act against the interest of their users.

Interestingly, late last year, the regulator gave permission to the country’s law enforcement agencies to sell cryptos seized from illicit activities.

South Korean Political Landscape: Is It Favourable to Cryptos? 

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is a pro-crypto leader. During his election campaign, he promised to introduce policies necessary to develop the local cryptocurrency industry. 

People Power Party, the most prominent political organisation in the country, also supports the cryptocurrency sector. It even calls for the introduction of spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds.

In July, 2024, the South Korean government introduced the Virtual Asset Investor Protection Act – the first attempt to establish a clear crypto regulation framework in the country. 

• Also Read :
•   SEC & CFTC Collaboration: A Game-Changer for U.S. Crypto Regulations?
•   ,

South Korea’s Crypto Market Growth Potential: An Overview 

South Korea is one of the world’s prominent crypto markets. As per a Statista report, the country’s crypto market revenue will reach $823.4M, and its number of crypto users will rise to at least 12.41 million by 2025. The average revenue per user in the country’s crypto market will touch $66.3 by the end of 2025, says the same report. 

Last month, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, Upbit, emerged as the fourth-largest centralised exchange in the world by monthly exchange volume. As of now, the 24-hour spot trading volume of Upbit stands at $3,219,270,601.09. The top five trading pairs in the exchange are XRP/KRW, LAYER/KRW, SBD/KRW, BTC/KRW and USDT/KRW.