Coinatory

RedotPay Launches Crypto Payment Cards in South Korea Hong Kong-based fintech company RedotPay has officially introduced its cryptocurrency-enabled payment cards in South Korea, aiming to disrupt the country's entrenched payment infrastructure with real-time stablecoin transactions. The crypto debit cards, available in both physical and virtual formats, are now accepted across all Korean merchants supporting the Visa network. This move aligns with RedotPay’s broader global expansion strategy and... cryptocurrency news today

South Korea Presidential Front-Runner Pledges Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval South Korea's leading presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, has pledged to legalize spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and introduce a range of pro-crypto policies if elected in the upcoming June 3 election. Lee presented his digital asset strategy on May 6 and positioned it as a component of a larger campaign to give South Korean youngsters more investing opportunities. His plan calls for stronger consume... Coinatory

South Korean Officials Reveal $9.8M in Cryptocurrency Holdings According to data released by South Korea's Ethics Commission for Government Officials on March 27, 2025, over 20% of public officials polled said they owned cryptocurrencies, with the total estimated worth at 14.4 billion won ($9.8 million). This number comprises 411 of the 2,047 officials who, in accordance with national legislation, must reveal their financial holdings. High-ranking public officials in South Korea own an average of 35.1 mi... cryptocurrency news Coinatory

South Korea Raids Bithumb Amid Former CEO’s Alleged $2M Embezzlement As part of an investigation into claims that its former CEO, Kim Dae-sik, embezzled company cash to pay for a personal apartment purchase, South Korean officials raided cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. Bithumb is being investigated by prosecutors for alleged financial misconduct. Bithumb's premises were searched by Seoul's Southern District Prosecutors' Office on March 20 in response to claims that the exchange had given Kim Dae-sik a 3 bi... Coinatory cryptonews

Bank of Korea Adopts Cautious Stance on Bitcoin Reserves Citing significant volatility and liquidity concerns, the Bank of Korea (BOK) has announced that it is approaching the addition of Bitcoin (BTC) to its foreign exchange reserves cautiously. Central bank officials stated in response to a question posed by Representative Cha Gyu-geun of the National Assembly that they had not examined or talked about the idea of keeping Bitcoin as part of South Korea's reserve assets. “Bitcoin’s p... Coinatory news

South Korea to Lift Corporate Crypto Trading Ban in 2025 South Korea will gradually lift its ban on corporate cryptocurrency trading. In a major legislative change for the nation's digital asset market, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea has announced plans to gradually eliminate the ban on corporate cryptocurrency trading. The FSC issued a statement on February 13 detailing a staged strategy to permit institutions to trade virtual assets. The action comes after previous rumors ... South Korea to Lift Corporate Crypto Trading Ban in 2025

South Korea Nears Approval for Corporate Crypto Investments The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea is indicating a major regulatory change in the country's digital asset environment by taking gradual steps to authorize cryptocurrency investments for institutional investors. The FSC intends to permit corporate cryptocurrency trading by permitting the issuance of real-name corporate trading accounts, according to a January 8 Yonhap News article. This project is in line with the FSC'... cryptonews today

South Korea's Crypto Boom: 30% of Population Invests in Digital Assets According to data from the Bank of Korea, over 15.59 million people, or more than 30% of the population, are currently investing in digital assets, making South Korea a global center for cryptocurrency adoption. As of November 2024, the country's entire cryptocurrency assets were valued at over $79 billion, making this a notable milestone. Exponential Increase in Market Activity and Participants Between October and November 2024, ... Coinatory cryptonews

South Korea’s Brief Martial Law Sparks $34 Billion in Crypto Trading South Korea experienced an unprecedented surge in cryptocurrency trading, with local exchanges recording $34.2 billion in volume over a single day, coinciding with a brief six-hour period of martial law declared by President Yoon Suk-yeol. Data from CoinMarketCap reveals that leading exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax saw record-breaking activity as of 10:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Upbit alone accounted for $27.25 bill... South Korea’s Brief Martial Law Sparks $34 Billion in Crypto Trading

Stablecoins Lead South Korea’s Trade Sector Surge, Tether Dominates on Tron The rapid adoption of stablecoins in South Korea’s trade sector is significantly enhancing the country's financial ecosystem, with Tether (USDT) on the Tron blockchain driving a substantial share of transactions. Recent government data reveals that stablecoins now account for approximately 10% of domestic trade transactions. This shift is largely attributed to the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of stablecoins, especially for small traders ... Coinatory cryptocurrency news

Report: 185+ Young South Koreans Own $750K+ in Digital Assets A recent report from South Korean crypto exchanges Upbit and Bithumb reveals that over 185 South Koreans in their 20s hold upwards of $750,000 each in digital assets. This data, submitted to Democratic Party Representative Ahn Do-gul through the Financial Supervisory Service and reported by Maeil Business Newspaper on Oct. 3, provides insight into the demographic breakdown of crypto holdings within the country. The report specifies that by th... cryptocurrency news today

South Korea Tightens Crypto Governance with Legal Amendment Targeting Insider Trading In a decisive step toward enhancing cryptocurrency governance, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Young-hwan has introduced an amendment to South Korea's Improper Solicitation and Graft Act aimed at combating insider trading and bribery involving virtual assets. The proposed amendment seeks to broaden the definition of “improper solicitation” to encompass virtual assets and the exchange of insider information. This legal update is part of South Ko... crypto news

South Korean Tech CEO Arrested in $366 Million Cryptocurrency Scam Byun Young-oh, the CEO of South Korean technology firm Wacon, has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a $366 million cryptocurrency scam that defrauded over 500 investors. The scheme, executed through a platform named MainEthernet, reportedly involved a Ponzi-style operation, primarily targeting elderly citizens. Wacon, a company with approximately 12,000 members, is suspected of operating as a Ponzi scheme or multi-level marketing (MLM... Coinatory

On February 7, the Reserve Bank of South Korea warned its counterparts from other countries about the risks that, according to the regulator, are related to digital currencies of central banks (CBDC). A new statement was made shortly after the financial institution announced that it did not intend to issue its own cryptocurrency. CBDC, which can also be understood as a state-supported or government-controlled digital currency, includes a transaction system on the blockchain. In fact, it is a digital analogue of the state fiat currency. However, many analysts criticize this model, believing that the blockchain is more like decentralized cryptocurrencies. Currently, several countries are considering whether the release of CBDC is ... Read more about " South Korean regulator warned against central bank cryptocurrencies " on coinatory.com

The second largest commercial bank in South Korea, Shinhan Bank, has launched a project to introduce the blockchain into its internal processes in order to reduce the human factor leading to errors. The English edition of The Korea Times reported this on December 10. Over the past eighteen months, the bank has sought to integrate both the blockchain and cryptocurrencies and recently a special staff training program aimed at expanding knowledge of the blockchain for various applications has been completed. According to The Korea Times, on November 30, for the first time in South Korea, the bank introduced transactions on interest rate swaps using the blockchain. Now, operations such as maintaining financial statements of the bank ... Read more about " South Korean bank introduces blockchain to get rid of "human error" " on coinatory.com

More and more influential officials of the country say that the ban on the initial offering of tokens should be lifted. The final decision on this issue should be taken in November. Recall that the ICO in South Korea was banned in September last year. This caused discontent on the part of the large blockchain community of the country. According to a member of the ruling party Min Byung-doo, quoted by CoinDesk, today many legislators agree that the ICO needs to be legalized. As the official believes, nowadays people should ... Read more about " South Korea can legalize ICO " on coinatory.com

The Ministry of Science and Information Technology of Korea (MSICT) promised to provide further support to specialists and companies of the blockchain industry in order to contribute to the growth of domestic industry. Second Minister of Science Ming Won-Ki held a meeting within the framework of the government"s program to establish contacts with organizations that are ready, as he said, to become participants in the fourth industrial revolution. The agenda of the meeting was devoted to pilot blockchain projects that are supported by ... Read more about " The South Korean government will support the blockchain " on coinatory.com

Ticket Monster, which sells tickets and is one of the largest companies in the e-commerce sector of South Korea, said in a press release on August 29 that it closed its round of financing at $ 32 million. These funds will go to the development of the new Terra stablecoin. Ticket Monster company, whose total sales is $ 4 billion, plans to create an internal cryptocurrency in addition to the already existing Luna token, which serves as collateral for its blockchain platform. This round of funding was attended by several well-known ... Read more about " South Korean startup attracted $ 32 million to create stablecoin with the support of Binance, OKEx and Huobi " on coinatory.com

According to a report published by the South Korean State Development Bank of Korea (KDB), which finances and manages large industrial facilities in the south of the country, Pyongyang has begun to search for blockchain and plans to create its own exchange platform. KDB said that Chosun Expo, a North Korean IT company, received government permission to develop a site for exchange. According to the report, Pyongyang is interested in research on technology blockchain, as cryptocurrencies can be "anonymous, hard-to-trace and easily ... Read more about " North Korea wants to join the world of cryptocurrency " on coinatory.com

A music platform with a blockchain was announced, which is designed to provide both streaming and a whole music industry. Muzika, which is the creation of experienced South Korean entrepreneurs, has already attracted support from the two largest technology companies in the country: Kakao and Naver. The blockchain-based music platform is designed to fight the growing problem of remuneration of musicians. While in current streaming systems, artists complain that they have little control over their works and inadequate payments for their ... Read more about " The music platform with the blockchain was announced in South Korea " on coinatory.com