South Korea opens the door to corporate crypto but tightens the rules for exchanges
The post South Korea opens the door to corporate crypto but tightens the rules for exchanges appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
South Korean regulators are considering allowing listed companies and professional investment firms to invest as much as 10% of their equity capital in crypto, potentially doubling the previous limit of 5%. The end of the nine-year ban of corporate crypto investment was announced on January 11 but excitement was short lived as industry players expressed disappointment in the allocation limit. South Korean corporate crypto adviser Rich O told Cryptopolitan that while the move is seen as an improvement, he believes the cap would restrict corporate participation. He said a 5% cap is impractical since price volatility and integrated cash and crypto accounting could push firms, unintentionally, over the limit. “If the price of bitcoin rises significantly, compliance with the limit could force a sale. It’s not a very good rule, given that the defining characteristic of crypto is its volatility and constant price fluctuation.” Rich O suspects authorities are fearful of publicly listed companies adopting a similar crypto playbook to MicroStrategy, which was rebranded to Strategy in 2025. The company has the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin with a reported 650,000 bitcoins. He anticipates the government will increase the cap over the coming years. Crypto for corporate survival Iris (Sungyoun) Park, is co-founder of South Korean web3 consultancy firm DELV and an attorney specializing in crypto. She told Cryptopolitan that there is tremendous corporate interest in diversifying portfolios with digital assets. “Diversification is absolutely vital for the survival of companies these days. South Korea is experiencing ongoing disparities in the value of assets which you can see with house prices and gold skyrocketing while the price of bitcoin is not.” She said a lot of companies in Korea are not only interested in holding crypto but also holding stablecoins for settling international trade. “There is a common understanding that…
Filed under: News - @ February 1, 2026 4:29 am