South Korea is promoting the establishment of virtual asset accounts for corporate entities in three stages, accelerating the legislation for stablecoin regulation.

The Korea Financial Commission (FSC) announced today that it will promote the opening of real-name accounts for virtual assets in three phases. The first batch of open law enforcement agencies, non-profit legal persons and virtual asset exchanges will be expanded to professional investor legal persons in the second half of this year, and medium- and long-term plans will be extended to general enterprise legal persons. (Synopsis: South Korea's new policy: will gradually open up enterprises, financial institutions will open real-name accounts to participate in cryptocurrency transactions) (Background supplement: South Korea accelerates the lifting of the ban on enterprises investing in virtual assets, Stable Coin legislation, can Taiwan keep up?) In early January, the Korea Financial Commission (FSC) announced its main work plan for 2025, which is expected to gradually open up legal persons to participate in virtual asset transactions, and promote the second phase of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, focusing on Stable Coin management, list standards and exchange specifications, and further improving the market regulatory framework. South Korea's three-stage promotion of the establishment of virtual assets account According to Korean media Newsis, the South Korean Financial Commission (FSC) announced at the third meeting of the Virtual Assets Committee held on the 13th that it will promote the opening of virtual assets real-name accounts by legal persons in three stages. Phase 1 (before Q2 2025): First allow law enforcement agencies, nonprofit corporations, and virtual asset exchanges to open accounts so that these corporations can sell virtual assets for cash. The second stage (second half of 2025): Expand to professional investor legal persons for investment and financial purposes, and open up institutional investors with risk tolerance to conduct virtual asset transactions. The third stage: consider gradually opening up to ordinary enterprise legal persons. South Korea's Virtual Asset Law Phase II Accelerates 'Stable Coin Legislation' South Korea's financial authorities are accelerating the process of "institutionalizing" virtual assets, and the FSC said today that it will widely open up legal persons to participate in virtual asset transactions after improving the anti-Money Undering system and related guidelines and monitoring programs. In addition, legal entity virtual asset accounts need to be carefully reviewed by banks and exchanges before being issued. The FSC also noted that the Phase III scheme to allow general legal persons to participate in virtual asset transactions is still under discussion, as the Phase II legislation related to virtual assets and additional regimes such as forex taxation are still yet to be clarified. In particular, in the second stage of the legislation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Law, there should be restrictions on the business conduct of virtual asset exchanges, as well as a special regulatory framework for Stable Coin. In addition, it is necessary to rectify the Forex trading law, which regulates virtual asset transactions at home and abroad. Last month, FSC Chairman Kim Byung-hwan said that a dedicated regulatory framework for Stable Coin is being actively prepared and will accelerate the "second phase of legislation" to regulate the issuance and listing of virtual assets. Specifically, Stable Coin Management will develop relevant regulatory norms to prevent systemic risks; The Shanghai coin standard requires virtual asset exchanges to have a transparent and rigorous Tokenlist process. In addition, the Code of Conduct for Exchange will work to prevent market manipulation and improve investor protection. Where is the progress of Taiwan's special law? Compared with South Korea, Taiwan seems to be slightly lagging behind in the regulation of virtual assets, and currently mainly regulates VASP operators with self-regulatory norms and a registration system established in accordance with the Money Laundering Prevention Law. Peng Jinlong, chairman of the FSC, previously said that virtual asset operators will be managed in four phases: Phase 1 is managed in accordance with the Money Laundering Prevention Law, requiring VASP operators to complete a legal compliance statement with the FSC Phase 2 establishes a VASP Association to set up guidelines and self-discipline Stage 3 establishes a sub-law in the Money Laundering Prevention Law and adds a "registration system". Virtual asset operators are required to complete registration by the end of March and September 2025, and those who continue to operate without completing registration will be criminally liable. The fourth stage is the establishment of a special law on virtual assets, which covers a wide range of areas and takes into account the responsibility of supporting the innovation and development of financial technology. The virtual asset law is expected to hold a public hearing in February, make a regulatory announcement in March, and hope to transfer the draft law to the Executive Yuan for review by the end of June this year. Stable Coin will be jointly regulated by Central Bank and the FSC. In the future, whether Taiwan's virtual asset supervision can catch up with Japan and South Korea with the formulation of special laws, as Chairman Peng Jinlong expected to "walk at the forefront of the world", it is worth continuing to follow. Extended reading: FSC: Taiwan's virtual asset law February office hearing in June, Stable Coin into supervision, bitcoin ETF open retail investor for another half year Related reports South Korea's new policy: will gradually open enterprises, financial institutions to open real-name accounts to participate in cryptocurrency transactions South Korea's FSC launches discussion on "Virtual Asset User Protection Law" Phase 2 Regulatory Framework, What about Taiwan? Taiwan's Cryptocurrency Regulatory Status Sorting: When Will the Special Law Go on the Road, the Four Major Stages of VASP, the Establishment and Goals of Virtual Currency Guilds Financial Regulatory Commission: Taiwan's VASP operators must apply for registration before 3/31, and the maximum penalty for not completing the maximum 2 years is 50 million, and P2P transactions are all illegal? This article was first published in BlockTempo's "Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Block Chain News Media".