South Korea Ends Nine-Year Ban, Opens Crypto Investing for Corporations

South Korea has formally ended its long-standing restriction on corporate cryptocurrency investments, opening the digital asset market to listed companies and professional investors for the first time since 2017. The decision marks a major policy reversal and signals a broader shift in how the country approaches digital finance and capital markets.

The Financial Services Commission has finalized regulatory guidelines that allow eligible entities to trade cryptocurrencies under defined limits. The move aligns with the government’s wider 2026 Economic Growth Strategy, which also includes plans for stablecoin legislation and approvals for spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds announced recently. Together, these steps indicate a coordinated effort to modernize South Korea’s financial framework and regain competitiveness in the global cryptocurrency market.

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Corporate Investment Framework Takes Shape

Under the new framework, publicly listed firms and registered professional investment corporations may allocate up to 5% of their equity capital to cryptocurrency investments each year. Investment options are restricted to the top 20 digital assets by market capitalization that are listed on South Korea’s five major domestic exchanges. Approximately 3,500 entities are expected to qualify once the rules take effect.

The issue of regulating markets and managing risk is a focal point for regulators. Exchanges are expected to ensure that staggered trade execution and order size restrictions will be implemented. This will ensure that market volatility is not an issue, and markets will not be affected by sudden changes. Regulators are considering whether dollar-pegged stablecoins are allowed within the investable range of corporations.

This regulatory approval marks the official opening for institutions since the ban was imposed nine years ago for money laundering and the risks of speculation and inadequate investor protection. Since then, the digital asset market has operated without corporate capital and has relied almost exclusively on retail traders.

Market Impact and Industry Response

The fact that financial institutions have not been allowed to invest in crypto for such a long time has had a major impact on the Korean crypto market. Day traders comprised the overwhelming majority of participants in trading, and a substantial amount of money was moved out of the country to take advantage of instruments not available within the Korean market.

Industry players are generally pleased with the policy change and are cautious about its limitations as well. Industry players find the 5% limit set on investments to be rather restrictive compared to other global financial centers that do not have an upper limit on investments made in digital assets.

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