South Korea’s Monetary Companies Fee (FSC) has reportedly proposed limiting main shareholders of cryptocurrency exchanges to 15-20% possession stakes, a regulatory bombshell dropped on December 30-31 that’s now casting a protracted shadow over the business’s outlook for 2026.
The proposal would pressure the founders and controlling shareholders of Korea’s prime 5 exchanges to divest important parts of their holdings.
Sponsored
Sponsored
A New 12 months Clouded by Uncertainty
The timing of the announcement—simply days earlier than the brand new yr—has left business contributors scrambling to evaluate the implications. A neighborhood media outlet first broke the story on December 30, which was subsequently coated by main monetary retailers. What was anticipated to be a celebratory interval marking one other yr of progress in one of many world’s most lively crypto markets has as a substitute grow to be a interval of anxious hypothesis about the way forward for alternate possession buildings.
“The industry entered 2026 under a cloud of regulatory uncertainty,” one alternate govt instructed reporters. “Deals that were on the verge of closing are now back on the drawing board.”
Sweeping Modifications to Governance
Beneath the proposed Digital Asset Fundamental Act, the FSC goals to rework crypto exchanges from founder-controlled non-public enterprises into quasi-public infrastructure, much like Various Buying and selling Programs (ATS) underneath Korea’s Capital Markets Act.
The influence can be rapid and far-reaching:
ExchangeLargest ShareholderCurrent StakeRequired DivestmentUpbit (Dunamu)Founder (Music Chi-hyung)25.52percent5-10percentBithumbBithumb Holdings73.56percent53-58percentCoinoneFounder (Cha Myung-hun)53.44percent33-38percentKorbitNXC60.5percent40-45percentGOPAXBinance67.45percent47-52%
The proposal additionally alerts a shift from the present registration system to a full-licensing regime, with regulators conducting health opinions of main shareholders—a degree of scrutiny beforehand reserved for conventional monetary establishments.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Mega-Offers in Limbo
Two of probably the most important company developments in Korea’s crypto sector now face main issues.
Naver’s deliberate merger with Dunamu, which might create a fintech big valued at roughly 20 trillion received ($14 billion), is instantly affected. The present construction—the place Naver Pay would maintain 100% of Dunamu—is basically incompatible with the proposed possession caps.
Equally, Mirae Asset’s acquisition of Korbit, for which a memorandum of understanding was lately signed with main shareholders NXC and SK Planet, faces an unsure path ahead. Trade observers notice that investing over 100 billion received with out securing administration management undermines the strategic rationale for the deal.
Enjoyable the Wall Between Finance and Crypto
One important facet of the proposal entails easing Korea’s strict separation between conventional finance and digital asset companies.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Since late 2017, when the federal government imposed sweeping cryptocurrency laws amid a speculative frenzy, authorities have maintained the unwritten rule. It bars banks, insurers, and different monetary establishments from investing in or partnering with crypto companies—a coverage designed to insulate the standard monetary system from the volatility and dangers of digital belongings. Whereas by no means codified into regulation, this precept has successfully saved established monetary gamers on the sidelines of Korea’s booming crypto market.
The FSC now seems to acknowledge that reaching possession dispersion whereas sustaining market stability requires participation from established monetary establishments. This might open the door for securities companies and asset managers to take stakes in exchanges, doubtlessly accelerating institutional adoption and the event of safety token choices (STO) and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
Trade Pushback
Change operators have responded with sharp criticism. Key considerations embody the potential disappearance of accountable controlling shareholders, which might create ambiguity about accountability when issues come up. Some argue that behavioral laws and voting rights restrictions can be extra applicable than compelled dispersion of possession.
There are additionally fears that domestic-only restrictions might inadvertently profit international rivals, with abroad platforms gaining market share whereas Korean exchanges battle to restructure.
Sponsored
Sponsored
“The government is attempting regulation that goes far beyond market guidelines,” one business consultant mentioned. “Legislation intended to promote the virtual asset industry and protect consumers could end up infringing on property rights and destabilizing corporate governance.”
World Implications
Korea’s proposal comes amid a broader regional push to formalize the governance of crypto exchanges. Indonesia launched the world’s first state-backed cryptocurrency bourse in 2023, with laws limiting cross-ownership between exchanges to twenty%. Vietnam launched a licensing regime in September 2025 requiring a minimal capital of $378 million and capping international possession at 49%.
Nonetheless, Korea’s strategy goes additional by focusing on present market leaders somewhat than simply setting guidelines for brand spanking new entrants. Forcing founders of established exchanges to divest important stakes is unprecedented amongst main crypto markets. With 11 million registered customers, Korea’s experiment in retroactive possession dispersion might be carefully watched by regulators elsewhere grappling with the best way to impose public-utility-style governance on non-public platforms which have already achieved dominance.
What Comes Subsequent
The FSC has emphasised that the proposal just isn’t remaining, with officers stating that particulars together with particular possession thresholds stay underneath dialogue. Authorized consultants recommend a transition interval of 5-10 years might be granted to permit gradual compliance.
For now, the Korean crypto business enters 2026 going through the prospect of its most important structural transformation because the first exchanges launched 13 years in the past. The approaching months will decide whether or not this reshaping strengthens the market’s foundations or disrupts the momentum that made Korea a world crypto powerhouse.
