South Korea Considers Opening Crypto Exchanges to Foreign Traders
Date: 2025-04-04 Author: Henry Casey Categories: IN WORLD
The regulator plans to relax current restrictions to allow foreign users to trade on South Korean exchanges. However, to do so, platforms will have to strictly comply with international standards in the field of preventing money laundering (AML). The exact timing of the changes has not yet been announced.
Currently, foreign investors cannot trade on South Korean crypto exchanges due to requirements that users must undergo verification through bank accounts registered in the name of residents of the country.
Peter Cheung, head of research at Presto Research, commented to The Block that opening the market to foreign traders could attract significant foreign investment and help eliminate the phenomenon of the so-called “kimchi premium” - the difference in cryptocurrency prices between South Korea and other countries. In addition, this initiative could accelerate the development of the stablecoin market, especially those based on the US dollar.
Since 2022, South Korea has been implementing the Travel Rule, which requires cryptocurrency exchanges to collect and store transaction information over 1 million won (about $685.95). However, according to Chung, regulators still doubt that existing platforms are able to fully meet AML requirements.
It is worth recalling that in December 2024, the South Korean government decided to postpone the introduction of new taxes on cryptocurrencies until 2027. Amendments to the legislation have been in development since 2020, and work on them is ongoing.
