South Korea's financial regulators have decided to introduce second-phase cryptocurrency legislation—the Digital Asset Basic Act—as soon as possible, with exchange ownership limits and stablecoin issuance rules as its core framework. Market observers expect ruling party-government consultations to take place this week.
The Financial Services Commission held its "First Virtual Asset Committee Meeting of 2026" at the Seoul Government Complex on the 4th, discussing the government's draft Digital Asset Basic Act with relevant ministries and private-sector experts.
The committee reportedly addressed the need for ownership regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges. Financial authorities maintain that major shareholders should be limited to 15-20% stakes in exchanges. The meeting also discussed a proposal requiring stablecoin issuers to form consortiums in which banks hold more than 50% plus one share.
Regulators also decided to revise the term "virtual asset" in the current Virtual Asset User Protection Act to align with international standards. The FSC explained that participants reached consensus on establishing internal control, IT system, and security standards for cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as imposing strict liability for damages.
Bithumb's recent Bitcoin overpayment incident was also on the agenda. An emergency response team comprising the FSC, Financial Supervisory Service, Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance will conduct inspections to ensure swift compensation for affected users. Participants also called for strengthening internal control systems by overhauling DAXA's self-regulatory framework.
Industry observers believe ruling party-government consultations could yield results as early as this week. An FSC official said, "We will soon hold consultations on the Digital Asset Basic Act amendments and improvements to DAXA's self-regulatory measures."
FSC Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young said, "We will pursue policies along two axes: regulatory reform and market expansion," adding, "We will accelerate virtual asset-related policies and communicate more frequently with the Virtual Asset Committee going forward."
