Regulation
Bank of Korea Clashes With Regulator Over Who Can Issue Stablecoins
23 Jul 2026, 10:05
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The Bank of Korea wants stablecoin issuers to be at least 51% bank-owned, a rule the country's securities regulator says would shut out tech firms.
A dispute has emerged between two of South Korea's key financial authorities over who should be allowed to issue stablecoins in the country, adding friction to Seoul's broader push to position 2026 as what officials have called a breakthrough year for stablecoin development. The Bank of Korea has proposed requiring stablecoin issuers to be at least 51% owned by a licensed bank, arguing that only institutions already subject to solvency requirements and anti-money-laundering obligations can reliably guarantee the stability a widely used stablecoin requires.
South Korea's Financial Services Commission has pushed back on that proposal, warning that a strict bank-ownership requirement would effectively lock technology companies and fintech firms out of stablecoin issuance entirely, concentrating the market in the hands of traditional banks and suppressing the kind of competition that has driven innovation in stablecoin design and distribution elsewhere. The disagreement reflects a broader tension playing out in stablecoin regulation globally: central banks tend to favor conservative, bank-centric models that prioritize systemic stability, while securities and competition-focused regulators often worry about ceding an emerging market to incumbents before genuine competition has had a chance to develop.
The stakes are heightened by South Korea's broader ambitions. The dispute comes against the backdrop of the country's National Asset Basic Act, which formally recognized digital assets within sovereign asset management for the first time in 76 years, and a broader Economic Growth Strategy that includes plans for a 2027 pilot linking tokenized government bonds to an institutional central bank digital currency framework.
How the Bank of Korea and Financial Services Commission resolve their disagreement will likely shape the competitive structure of Korea's stablecoin market for years to come, determining whether the country's stablecoin future looks more like a bank-dominated system similar to some European approaches, or a more open model that allows technology firms to compete directly with financial institutions for a share of the emerging market.
South Korea's Financial Services Commission has pushed back on that proposal, warning that a strict bank-ownership requirement would effectively lock technology companies and fintech firms out of stablecoin issuance entirely, concentrating the market in the hands of traditional banks and suppressing the kind of competition that has driven innovation in stablecoin design and distribution elsewhere. The disagreement reflects a broader tension playing out in stablecoin regulation globally: central banks tend to favor conservative, bank-centric models that prioritize systemic stability, while securities and competition-focused regulators often worry about ceding an emerging market to incumbents before genuine competition has had a chance to develop.
The stakes are heightened by South Korea's broader ambitions. The dispute comes against the backdrop of the country's National Asset Basic Act, which formally recognized digital assets within sovereign asset management for the first time in 76 years, and a broader Economic Growth Strategy that includes plans for a 2027 pilot linking tokenized government bonds to an institutional central bank digital currency framework.
How the Bank of Korea and Financial Services Commission resolve their disagreement will likely shape the competitive structure of Korea's stablecoin market for years to come, determining whether the country's stablecoin future looks more like a bank-dominated system similar to some European approaches, or a more open model that allows technology firms to compete directly with financial institutions for a share of the emerging market.