Regulatory Framework to Curb Corporate Crypto Bets at 5% in South Korea
In a move to govern institutional digital asset exposure, South Korean regulators are proposing a 5% cap on corporate cryptocurrency investments. The Financial Services Commission is behind the developing policy.
Per a local media report from the Seoul Economic Daily, the commission has formulated a trading guideline, with a finalized version anticipated around January or February. Corporate crypto trading is expected to start in earnest this year.
The guideline would permit listed companies and professional investors to allocate a maximum of 5% of their equity annually to leading cryptocurrencies, specifically those in the top 20 by market cap. The inclusion of US dollar stablecoins remains a topic of internal discussion.
The immediate market impact may be narrow. “We expect improved liquidity, but even with eligibility limited to the top 20 by market cap, we expect flows to remain concentrated in Bitcoin and potentially Ethereum,” said Min Jung, associate researcher at Presto Research.
This action builds upon prior steps to dismantle South Korea’s institutional trading ban. The FSC began allowing certain entities to sell holdings in mid-2025 and had previously announced plans to expand trading permissions to listed firms in the second half of that year.
