Markets · South Korea

Live under exemptions, regulated from 2027

A $2.2bn market that is not yet legally a market.

Korea already has a working tokenization market, but it runs on regulatory sandbox exemptions rather than as recognised securities. That changes on 4 February 2027 — and the rules published for it are the clearest statement anywhere that access is not a yes or no.

Market size

$2.2bn issued in 2026

primarily real estate and private equity

Instruments we hold

nothing readable

Regulator

FSC (Financial Services Commission)

Currency

KRW

Why this one cannot be read

Not attempted successfully. The FSC's register of designated innovative financial services holds 1,112 entries and would be the Korean equivalent of our operator map, but its navigation renders client-side and three attempts to reach the list failed. The likelier route is the FSC's own press releases, which announce each designation round individually.

What would change that: The FSC register becomes reachable, or phase 1 issuance from February 2027 lands on infrastructure that publishes.

The rules there

Today's market is 조각투자 — fractional investment — under sandbox exemptions. From 4 February 2027, phase 1 grants legal recognition to institutional money market funds, bonds for institutional investors, unlisted stocks through a trust structure, and publicly offered fractional investment securities. Phase 2 covers all publicly offered securities and has NO date. Phase 3 connects on-chain payments to stablecoins.

Retail limits, as published

— Per subscription: the lesser of ₩30m or 5% of the issuance (~$21,000)
— Per year: ₩100m net (~$70,000) — counted separately at each OTC venue

Worth reading twice: eligibility here is an amount, a jurisdiction and a venue — not a yes or a no. Almost every dataset in this industry, ours included, stores access as one line of free text with nowhere to put that.

Buying crypto in South Korea: what to know

Legal

한국어

Who regulates

Financial Services Commission (FSC) — Policy and rule-making for virtual assets
Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) — VASP reporting/registration and AML supervision
Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) — Supervision and enforcement under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act
National Tax Service (NTS) — Taxation

Licensing of providers

Virtual asset service providers must be reported to KoFIU; exchanges converting virtual assets to KRW must use real-name verified bank accounts. KoFIU reported 28 duly registered providers in June 2026 (incl. Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) and lists them on its website. A Digital Asset Basic Act with exchange licensing and stablecoin rules had not yet been introduced as of 22 October 2026; the FSC said consultations were nearly complete.

Tax

Crypto gains are not taxed for individuals yet. A 22% tax above KRW 2.5m is scheduled for 1 January 2027, but a fourth delay to 2029 was being negotiated at end of October 2026.

Gains: 0% today; 20% + 2% local tax on yearly gains above KRW 2.5m scheduled from 1 Jan 2027 (delay to 2029 under discussion)

Tax authority: nts.go.kr ↗

Full tax page, incl. tokenized stocks and funds →

Reporting

Residents must report overseas financial accounts, including overseas virtual asset accounts (since the 2023 reporting year), if the aggregate balance exceeds KRW 500 million at any month-end; reports are due by end of June of the following year. The NTS plans automatic international exchange of crypto transaction data from 2027.

Stablecoins

No dedicated stablecoin law is in force; issuance rules are planned in the Digital Asset Basic Act, which was delayed partly over a dispute between the FSC and the Bank of Korea on bank-led issuance.

Watch out

Check on the KoFIU website whether a provider is registered; KRW trading requires a linked real-name bank account.
Whether the 2027 crypto tax goes ahead was still being debated in October 2026.
Overseas exchange accounts above KRW 500 million at any month-end must be reported.

Checked 2026-10-29 · Confidence: medium · Sources: [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Not confirmed: Official KoFIU register page (no stable URL could be opened) · ISMS requirement and Virtual Asset User Protection Act effective date (19 July 2024) not checked against an official source · Whether the 2027 exchange is formally under the OECD CARF

Compiled to the best of our knowledge from the sources linked. Information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change — check the linked official sources before acting.

Found an error or something out of date? Tell us at [email protected] — we check and correct it.

Official registers

What the authorities publish — and what we read

Status: Public register, read. Every address below was loaded, not guessed. A register entry records that an authority licensed, registered or approved something; it says nothing about whether you may or should buy it.

Authority	Register	Finding
FSC / 한국핀테크지원센터	금융규제 샌드박스 지정기업 목록 (혁신금융서비스 / 지정대리인 / 위탁테스트)	Public register, read
FIU (금융정보분석원)	가상자산사업자 신고 현황	Public register, read
FSC / KSD	토큰증권 (STO) Register	No public register about 0 entries

가상자산사업자 신고 현황 — virtual asset service provider reports

Licensed or registered providers · 45 entries · 5 marked “real name bank account”, listed first

Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (금융정보분석원) · source · read 2026-10-14

Register no.	Real Name Bank Account	Name	Status
119-86-54968	✓	두나무 주식회사	reported
220-88-61399	✓	디지털엑스 주식회사	reported
261-81-07437	✓	주식회사 코인원	reported
220-88-71844	✓	주식회사 빗썸	reported
432-87-00120	✓	주식회사 스트리미	reported
194-87-00761		주식회사 한국디지털거래소	reported
729-86-01268		차일들리 주식회사	reported
136-87-01478		주식회사 포블게이트	reported
894-86-01183		㈜코어닥스	reported
155-86-01720		주식회사 그레이브릿지	reported
885-88-00694		주식회사 포리스닥스코리아리미티드	reported
791-81-00992		주식회사 골든퓨쳐스	reported
681-81-01205		주식회사 프라뱅	reported
280-88-00977		주식회사 보라비트	reported
618-81-36254		주식회사 한국디지털에셋	reported
809-86-01583		주식회사 한국디지털자산수탁	reported
636-88-00831		주식회사 헥토월렛원	reported
826-81-00997		㈜가디언홀딩스	reported
634-86-01747		주식회사 마인드시프트	reported
306-88-02374		주식회사 인피닛블록	reported
659-87-01307		㈜디에스알브이랩스	reported
376-88-02126		비댁스 주식회사	reported
783-81-02738		㈜인피니티익스체인지코리아	reported
767-88-01245		㈜웨이브릿지	reported
712-86-02691		㈜해피블록	reported
741-86-02855		㈜블로세이프	reported
411-87-02306		㈜안랩블록체인컴퍼니	reported
549-88-03024		비트고코리아㈜	reported
㈜피어테크		㈜피어테크	lapsed
오션스㈜		오션스㈜	lapsed
후오비㈜		후오비㈜	lapsed
㈜플랫타이엑스		㈜플랫타이엑스	lapsed
㈜한빗코코리아		㈜한빗코코리아	lapsed
㈜블록체인컴퍼니		㈜블록체인컴퍼니	lapsed
㈜코엔코코리아		㈜코엔코코리아	lapsed
㈜뉴링크		㈜뉴링크	lapsed
㈜텐앤텐		㈜텐앤텐	lapsed
㈜에이프로코리아		㈜에이프로코리아	lapsed
㈜씨피랩스		㈜씨피랩스	lapsed
큐비트㈜		큐비트㈜	lapsed
㈜카르도		㈜카르도	lapsed
㈜델리오		㈜델리오	lapsed
PayProtocol AG		PayProtocol AG	lapsed
㈜엑시아소프트		㈜엑시아소프트	lapsed
하이퍼리즘 유한책임회사		하이퍼리즘 유한책임회사	lapsed

금융규제 샌드박스 지정기업 목록 — designated innovative financial services, designated agents, consignment tests

Sandbox participants · 1,127 entries · 39 marked “blockchain”, listed first

Financial Services Commission / Korea Fintech Center (한국핀테크지원센터) · source · read 2026-10-14

Register no.	Blockchain	Name	Blockchain
1127	✓	아이엠뱅크	true
1126	✓	경남은행	true
997	✓	신한은행	true
827	✓	NH농협은행	true
690	✓	한국ST거래	true
578	✓	디렉셔널	true
417	✓	하나은행	true
416	✓	중소기업은행	true
415	✓	우리은행	true
414	✓	신한은행	true
413	✓	BNK부산은행	true
412	✓	NH농협은행	true
411	✓	KB국민은행	true
340	✓	갤럭시아머니트리	true
337	✓	폭스바겐파이낸셜서비스코리아	true
330	✓	서울거래	true
291	✓	현대카드	true
268	✓	에이판다파트너스(신한투자증권)	true
219	✓	카카오페이	true
178	✓	카카오페이	true
176	✓	펀드블록글로벌	true
173	✓	루센트블록	true
154	✓	코인플러그	true
150	✓	한화생명보험	true
128	✓	서울거래	true
127	✓	두나무	true
115	✓	KT	true
110	✓	KB증권	true
96	✓	카사	true
94	✓	농협은행	true
91	✓	금융결제원	true
84	✓	피네보	true
79	✓	페이워치코리아(前엠마우스)	true
75	✓	SK텔레콤	true
74	✓	카카오페이	true
62	✓	직뱅크	true
48	✓	파라메타	true
29	✓	코스콤	true
17	✓	디렉셔널	true
1125		네이버파이낸셜	false
1124		현대커머셜	false
1123		현대카드	false
1122		하나은행	false
1121		토스증권	false
1120		토스증권	false
1119		토스뱅크	false
1118		쿠팡페이	false
1117		카카오뱅크	false
1116		아이엠라이프생명보험	false
1115		삼성화재해상보험	false
1114		삼성카드	false
1113		삼성생명보험	false
1112		비씨카드	false
1111		KB자산운용	false
1110		JB우리캐피탈	false
1109		JB우리캐피탈	false
1108		전주농업협동조합	false
1107		청주축산업협동조합	false
1106		평택농업협동조합	false
1105		안양지구축산업협동조합	false

Showing 60 of 1,127. The full list is in the register itself (link above).

In our catalogue: 4 instruments from South Korea

4 live.

KRW1 KRWQ Musicow music-royalty trust certificates Sou (소유) real-estate trust beneficiary certifi…

How these figures were established

Market sizes are read from named reports; the availability finding is tested separately by loading the platform’s own site, reading the API paths out of its JavaScript bundles and calling them. A guessed endpoint returning 404 proves nothing.

← All markets