Seoul's 22% Crypto Tax Will Hit Private Wallets, Foreign Exchanges

The NTS acknowledged that monitoring self-custodied wallets is difficult because individuals can generate multiple addresses without intermediaries. To solve that, the agency plans to develop transaction-tracking and analysis systems. The government is also working on ways to deal with self-custodied cryptocurrencies during criminal investigations.

For foreign exchanges, South Korea intends to use the Offshore Financial Account Disclosure system and the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework to track movements. The country has also imposed registration requirements for cross-border transfers of cryptocurrencies.

Government figures show roughly $60 billion worth of cryptocurrency was transferred from local exchanges during the latter part of 2025. Political opposition remains. The People Power Party is demanding the tax be abolished or delayed. A related petition has passed 50,000 signatures. Preparations for 2027 are proceeding despite the objections.