South Korea drops crypto transfer threshold, tightens operator rules

On the operator side, the FIU expanded the definition of a controlling shareholder at a virtual asset service provider, or VASP. The new rule covers anyone who installed a majority of a firm's directors or its chief executive. If the largest shareholder is itself a company, that company's own top shareholder and representative also fall under review.

Exchange operators that are just registering must meet a debt-to-equity ratio of 200% or lower. They must show no credit-order default in the past three years and no cancelled license under financial law over the past five years. The FIU can reject registration if any of these conditions fail. Existing operators get a one-year reprieve on the debt-ratio test. Executives also have to clear the eligibility bar set by the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies.

The registration provisions and the notice rules for sanctioned former staff take effect on August 20, 2026. The expanded Travel Rule and the overseas-transfer restrictions arrive six months after that, in February 2027.

The FIU has redrafted its registration manual to match the new rules. With the Financial Supervisory Service, it plans a public briefing on August 13 for licensed VASPs and firms preparing to apply.

The tightening comes after a string of incidents that drew scrutiny. In 2023, Bithumb made a mistaken payout of about $40 billion in Bitcoin, prompting a five-minute ledger reconciliation for exchanges and stricter registration rules for major exchanges, according to local reports.