【Block 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 is now pivoting to support the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s 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 the dominant share.
The specific rules are as follows: consortiums can issue stablecoins, but banks must maintain stockholding control of over 50%. Tech companies can participate, but their shareholding proportion must be lower than the banks' overall holdings. In other words, traditional financial institutions hold absolute dominance here.
Behind this policy adjustment lies the divergence among the ruling party, financial regulators, and the central bank. Legislators had objections to the banks' plan for issuing Korean won stablecoins, but ultimately compromised.
For crypto trading platforms, the days ahead may become even more