Coreia do Sul ajusta direção da regulamentação de stablecoins, controle bancário torna-se a chave

【Blockchain Motion】A major shift in South Korea’s stablecoin policy under financial regulation.

On January 8, news emerged that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea has changed its previous stance and now supports the Bank of Korea (BOK) proposal — setting stricter thresholds for stablecoin issuance. In simple terms, stablecoins in the future can only be issued by bank-led consortiums, and banks must maintain controlling interests.

The specific rules are as follows: Consortiums can issue stablecoins, but banks must maintain more than 50% equity control. Technology companies can participate, but their shareholding proportion must be lower than banks’ overall shareholding. In other words, traditional financial institutions hold absolute dominance here.

The policy adjustment behind this actually reflects differences among the ruling party, financial regulatory authorities, and the central bank. Lawmakers have objections to banks’ plan to issue won-denominated stablecoins, but ultimately compromised.

For cryptocurrency trading platforms, the days ahead may be more difficult. The new regulations require platforms to enhance IT system stability standards, losses caused by user hacking attacks must be forcibly compensated, and the penalty cap is set at 10% of annual revenue. These requirements are not inexpensive.

Additionally, stablecoin issuers need to prepare at least 500 million won (approximately 3.7 million USD) in paid-in capital. Regulatory authorities have also clarified that there is room for adjustment — as the market develops, this capital requirement may continue to increase. This means that the industry’s entry barriers are continuously rising.