Financial Authorities Consider Allowing Banks to Hold Korean Won Stablecoin Reserves

Financial authorities are reviewing a plan for banks to manage the reserve assets of Korean won stablecoins.

According to data received by Assemblyman Park Sanghyuk of the Democratic Party, who is a member of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, from the Financial Services Commission on March 17, the commission is considering a plan for banks to store and manage the reserve assets if Korean won stablecoins are introduced. This is based on precedents such as the current Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which requires users’ digital asset deposits to be entrusted to or deposited in banks.

Currently, the Financial Services Commission is reviewing ways to expand the participation of traditional financial institutions such as banks and securities companies in the digital asset market. The specific methods and scope of permission will be determined in connection with the second phase of legislative discussions.

Until now, the Financial Services Commission has adhered to the principle of ‘separation between finance and virtual assets.’ However, following a series of asset management incidents at domestic exchanges, there is increasing support for building virtual asset infrastructure through the capital strength and internal control capabilities of financial companies such as banks.

In the second phase of the legislation, the Financial Services Commission also plans to discuss measures to restructure the overall virtual asset custody market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.