South Korea’s Crypto Market Slows as VASP Approvals Drop by Half

The crypto industry in South Korea has currently been operating under very heavy regulatory pressure as different companies interested in registering as Virtual Asset Service Providers have been faced with delays and uncertainty.

This absence of finalized and structured virtual asset legislation has forced the regulators to carefully look into every VASP application, and by doing this, they have slowed approvals and also limited market entry.

How South Korea’s Tightened Crypto Oversight Has Slowed Market Entry

According to the report shared by a local news outlet, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the organizational body that reviews and accepts reports from virtual asset operators, approved only two firms last year; this number is a huge decline from the four that previously passed review in the previous cycle.

This new tightening approach has made it very difficult for new businesses to enter the market, and even the other older operators have remained inactive despite submitting their reports. Not only has the process of getting approval gotten tougher, the review process has also stretched out.

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A review process that could have easily taken a short period of time has been expanded beyond a year, and in some cases, it has disrupted the launch plans and discouraged investment.

Despite all of these current challenges, there have been recent actions that have been taken in order to propose a change in the regulatory focus. According to the report shared, the renewal of Dunamu’s virtual asset license, following the conclusion of its sanctions process and a substantial financial penalty, has marked a very significant turning point.

With the leading exchanges securing opportunities to continue operations, concerns over market stability have eased. In all, as other major platforms progress through their own renewal procedures, industry participants expect the confidence to return gradually, and with this, it would enable exchanges to resume expansion plans, commit bigger capital to the industry, and also revisit long-term growth strategies such as public listings.

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