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Homepage > News > Business > South Korea’s policy U-turn favors ‘crypto’ firms South Korea is reportedly about to lift a seven-year restriction on virtual asset trading and brokerage businesses being recognized as ‘venture companies.’ This means they would be able to apply for tax breaks and financing support. Despite recent indications that more substantial regulation could be incoming, this policy change may signal South Korea moving toward a stance closer aligned with current United States policy under President Donald Trump, which embraces the digital assets space in the name of supporting innovation. On September 9, the South Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) confirmed the partial amendment to the ‘Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Fostering Venture Businesses,’ opening the path for digital asset firms to be recognized as venture companies. According to a report by local outlet Newsis, the MSS stated that the decision “reflects the changing global status of the virtual asset industry and the maturation of the domestic user protection system,” adding that it “lays the foundation for the full-scale cultivation of deep-tech industries, core to the digital asset ecosystem, such as blockchain and cryptography.” The restriction was first imposed in October 2018, when the government rejected a proposal from the MSS to add virtual asset firms to the government’s official list of certified venture companies, a decision that also put the South Korean blockchain industry on the hook for potentially more taxes. Industry stakeholders at the time widely criticized the move as damaging to South Korea’s competitiveness. A statement by blockchain and digital asset lobby groups, including the Korea Blockchain Association, the Korea Blockchain Startup Association, and the Korea Industry Promotion Association, said the restriction would “discourage the industry as a whole.” However, it appears the government has now come around to such…

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Filed under: News - @ September 12, 2025 3:30 pm