South Korea bets on crypto as part of national wealth strategy

South Korea has begun incorporating virtual assets into its management of public wealth, a stride being made as lawmakers seek to step up their efforts to catch up with the United States, the EU and Japan in the arena of cryptocurrency rules and regulations.

With approximately 20% of the population already involved in trading digital assets, the message this sends to global investors is that one of the major economies of Asia is planning to integrate cryptocurrencies into its financial system as a permanent feature rather than some kind of an experimental initiative.

Its impact is felt outside of Korea. According to public policy consulting firm PS Engage, Seoul’s policy decisions have become reference points across Asia as the nation combines a robust retail sector with a sizeable domestic exchange business and a well-developed banking and fintech industry.

South Korea rewrites asset rules

South Korea’s crypto market reportedly climbed to nearly 108 trillion won, about $77.5 billion, in the second half of last year, with investors in their 30s leading the way. The Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) announced during a policy briefing at the presidential palace on July 15 that it is looking to formulate a new “Basic Law on State Assets” that will regulate public properties, which currently stand at over 1,400 trillion won.

The present State Property Act dates back to 1950 and is centered around land and buildings. An official from MOFE said that the scope of state properties has been broadened to cover intellectual property and financial assets, and that the joint public-private task force will move ahead with the legislative process. The task force is expected to review how virtual assets should be incorporated into the law, an area that remains largely unaddressed under the current framework.

The legislation that has been proposed is framed as a transition from merely conserving, selling, or developing state property to what officials describe as value creation. In the proposed policy framework, different asset classes such as patents, copyrights, the government’s equity stakes, and virtual assets will each require specialized handling.

A tokenized treasury by 2030

The state’s asset strategy has a definitive blockchain aspect. According to the Seoul Economic Daily, the government is expected to begin trials for paying treasury funds through deposit tokens (bank deposits in tokenized form which function on distributed ledgers) in the second half of 2026. The trials will first cover government operating expenses and subsidies for electric-vehicle charging with the aim that around 25% of all treasury spending be made using deposit tokens by 2030. Another pilot related to tokenization of government bonds is planned to take place in 2027 in connection with the Bank of Korea’s institutional central bank digital currency.

The timing is what matters most for now. Details such as when the Basic Law on State Assets will take effect and which virtual assets it will ultimately cover will be worked out later by the task force and the relevant ministries.

Part of a wider catch-up push

The announcement regarding the asset law is part of a larger digital asset strategy revealed days before. According to the Seoul Economic Daily, in its economic growth strategy for 2026, the government stated it plans to pass the Digital Asset Framework Act in the second half of the year. Thus, creating rules for businesses in the sector and allow stablecoins to gain legal status. Additionally, the government intends to support changes in the Capital Markets Act that would make it possible to issue spot Bitcoin ETFs, making Bitcoin available via ordinary brokerage accounts, KED Global reported.

South Korea is playing catch-up. The European Union has already rolled out its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, while the United States enacted the GENIUS Act for payment stablecoins last year and is now debating the market-structure CLARITY Act in the Senate. Meanwhile, South Korea’s second-phase crypto legislation has slipped beyond its original first-quarter target because of election-related delays and a stalled National Assembly. Key issues also remain unresolved, including whether won-backed stablecoins should be issued only by bank-led consortiums and whether major shareholders of crypto exchanges should face ownership limits.

What global market participants are learning from this latest move is direction rather than a fully defined playbook. Seoul is integrating cryptocurrency with government bonds, treasury payments, and even the legal definition of national assets while the critical legislation establishing the market structure is still being drafted.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.