The government also reaffirmed plans to pilot tokenized government bonds next year and explore tokenizing state-owned real estate.
The fine comes after an investigation concluded that Bithumb shared information with many overseas exchanges in violation of laws intended to protect user data.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has placed token securities infrastructure within a wider capital-market modernization plan covering faster settlement, longer trading hours and digital transformation.
Banks across Europe and South Korea will study whether regulated euro and won stablecoins can enable real-time cross-border foreign exchange settlement.
The alliance, called Project Pangea, plans to use stablecoins to settle multimillion-dollar currency trades between Europe and South Korea in near real time.
South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI stock index plunged nearly 10% today, triggering a market-wide trading halt one day after the country’s top financial regulator acknowledged that authorities had rushed the approval of leveraged funds tied to its two largest chipmakers. According to reports, the KOSPI closed down 9.99% at 8,203.84, its steepest decline since March 4. […]
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South Korea’s FIU is calling for broader crypto transfer reporting rules during FATF talks, citing offshore risks and uneven global AML enforcement.
After becoming 2026's best-performing major stock market on the back of an AI chip boom, South Korea's KOSPI suffered one of its sharpest drops on record and then rebounded almost as fast. The 48-hour swing shows how concentrated the global AI trade has become, and why investors in everything from chip stocks to Bitcoin are […]
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The crypto exchange's investment arm and Korea Investment & Securities will each invest KRW 80 billion ($53 million) as Coinone pushes into stablecoins and tokenized securities.
Samsung Securities is set to take a 2% stake in Dunamu, worth over $200 million, from affiliates of technology conglomerate Kakao.
A Seoul-based funeral services firm disclosed tens of millions of dollars in unrealized losses tied to leveraged ether ETF investments.
OKX's planned move into the South Korean market would echo that of Binance, which completed its acquisition of Seoul-based Gopax last year.
The South Korean bank announced plans for a won-pegged stablecoin, blockchain remittances and tokenized securities.
South Korea's financial watchdog imposed a $24.6 million fine on Bithumb and partial suspension that came into effect last month.
KBank is using Palisade, Ripple's software-as-a-service wallet that was acquired earlier this year as part of Ripple's $4 billion in crypto-related investments.
The BOK will increase scrutiny of crypto markets and non-bank finance, and will also modernize currency markets for 24-hour foreign exchange trading, he said.
Bitcoin's comparative stability during geopolitical turmoil has reinforced its appeal as a hedge.
Token-based payments can be programmed with spending limits and which industries can use them, reducing audits and lowering transaction fees by removing intermediaries.
The nominee, Shin Huyn-song, supported a central bank digital currency model, emphasizing the need for strict anti-money laundering and compliance controls.
Crypto's 24/7 global trading across hundreds of venues makes it difficult for any single country to halt the market.
Bithumb has pushed its stock market listing past 2028, citing the need to overhaul its accounting systems and internal controls after a high-profile crypto payout error drew scrutiny from South Korean regulators. Related Reading: XRP Headed For A Price Shock, Japan’s Financial Heavyweight Says Regulator Steps In After Industry Audit The Financial Services Commission announced Monday that all crypto exchanges operating in the country must now reconcile their internal records with actual asset holdings on a five-minute cycle. The directive followed an emergency inspection triggered by Bithumb’s February blunder, in which the exchange accidentally sent 620,000 Bitcoin to 249 users during a rewards promotion. Bithumb recovered nearly all of it the same day — 99.7% — and used company funds to cover the remaining 1,788 BTC that had already been sold. What the inspection turned up across the broader industry alarmed regulators. Three of South Korea’s five largest exchanges were checking their books just once every 24 hours. Systems meant to pause trading when major discrepancies were detected were found to be inadequate. Sweeping Operational Changes Now Required Under the new rules, exchanges must build automated systems that match ledger records to actual wallet balances every five minutes. They are also required to set clear thresholds that trigger automatic trading halts when something looks off. High-risk activities — promotional payouts, for example — will need third-party reviews and sign-off from multiple internal levels before going through. High-risk accounts must be separated, and automated payment verification tools will become mandatory. External audits are changing too. Quarterly reviews are out. Monthly audits are in. Exchanges will also need to publish detailed breakdowns of asset balances by both wallet and ledger. The FSC said it and the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance plan to finish drafting the updated rules before the end of April. Related Reading: XRP Wallet Count Tops 8 Million As Trading Volume Nears $4 Billion Bithumb Delays IPO, Naver Slows Share Deal Bithumb’s listing plans have now been pushed back at least three years from its original 2025 target. The exchange has brought in advisory firm Samjong KPMG and said it will spend 2027 focused on tightening its financial policies and controls before making another run at going public. Separately, Naver Financial has delayed its planned share swap with crypto firm Dunamu by about three months. A shareholder vote is now set for Aug. 18, with the deal expected to close by Sept. 30. South Korea has long been one of the most active countries in regulating crypto markets. These latest moves signal that pressure is intensifying — and that exchanges can expect less room for error going forward. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView
The fine stems from approximately 6.65 million violations related to KYC and transaction restrictions.
The suspension, according to local media reports, would only restrict virtual asset transfers for newly registered users, not affecting existing customer operations.
Korea's tech-heavy Kospi has plunged 20% in the last two trading sessions, potentially pushing that country's fast-money chasing traders back into crypto.
The National Tax Service said it had intended to provide a vivid shot of the seizure by sharing a photo.
The South Korean financial firm backs the U.S.-based blockchain company to accelerate enterprise wallet technology and real-world asset tokenization.
The South Korean crypto exchange’s CEO Le Jae-won said the lack of proper controls led to the erroneous transfer of bitcoin worth more than $40 billion to customers. Most has been recovered.
An internal reward distribution mistake briefly sent bitcoin prices sharply lower on South Korea’s Bithumb exchange after users were mistakenly credited with large phantom balances.
The partnership focuses on privacy, compliance and standards for regulated digital-asset adoption in South Korea.
Internal audit showed the coins were likely lost via a phishing attack during official storage, according to local media reports.