South Korea's top financial regulator said talks on the Digital Asset Basic Act are in their final stages, according to a CoinMarketCap post published on October 23, 2026. The bill is set to cover exchange licensing and stablecoin issuance rules, two areas that have operated under patchwork guidance in South Korea for years.
The announcement moves a long-discussed framework closer to a concrete text. For a market where a large share of adults hold crypto and daily won-denominated trading volume has at times rivaled equity turnover, a single statute governing how exchanges are licensed and how stablecoins can be issued would reset the ground rules.
The two pillars in the draft
Based on the regulator's statement, the Act centers on two components. The first is exchange licensing: a formal authorization regime for the platforms where South Koreans buy and sell digital assets. Until now, domestic exchanges have operated primarily under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, an anti-money-laundering registration law rather than a bespoke licensing framework built for trading venues.
The second is stablecoin issuance. The statement specifies rules for who can issue stablecoins and under what conditions. That is the more closely watched half. A domestic issuance regime raises the prospect of regulated won-pegged stablecoins, a topic that has drawn debate among Korean policymakers and commercial banks over the past year.
The source does not specify capital requirements, reserve rules, the list of eligible issuers, or an effective date. Those details will determine how restrictive or permissive the final law is, and they are not yet public.
Stablecoin rules carry the most weight
A licensed stablecoin framework would give banks, fintechs, and payment firms a legal path to issue tokens backed by won or other reserves. That matters beyond trading desks. Stablecoins are the settlement layer underneath most stablecoin spending products and a growing share of cross-border payment rails, and a clear issuance rule in a G20 economy tends to pull banks off the sidelines.
The timing lines up with a broader regional push. Korean and Japanese firms have been piloting cross-border stablecoin payments, and neighboring regulators have moved on their own frameworks. A finalized Korean law would place one of Asia's largest consumer markets on a defined footing rather than a provisional one.
For now, the practical effect is forward-looking. Final-stage talks are not an enacted law, and the regulator's comment describes progress rather than a passed bill or a signed statute.
Muted market backdrop
The news landed during a quiet session for major tokens. As of October 23, 2026, Bitcoin traded at $81,914, down 1.0% on the day, with Ether at $2,411 (down 1.1%) and XRP at $1.32 (down 1.7%), per CoinMarketCap market data. The Fear and Greed Index sat at 49, a neutral reading.
Regulatory progress of this kind rarely moves prices immediately, since the text and effective date remain open. The repricing, if any, tends to follow the specifics: which issuers qualify, what reserves they must hold, and when the licensing window opens.
Significance for users and issuers
For South Korean users, a licensing regime could narrow the field of legally operating exchanges and tighten the requirements they must meet. That generally raises compliance costs but also reduces counterparty ambiguity, since users would know which venues hold a formal license rather than an AML registration.
For card and payment companies, the stablecoin half is the one to track. Much of the crypto card market runs on stablecoin balances converted at the point of sale, and a regulated won-stablecoin would give domestic issuers a compliant asset to build around. Several exchanges that serve Korean users, including Coinbase and regional platforms, would also need to map their operations onto whatever licensing standard the Act sets.
The gap between a final-stage announcement and an enforceable rulebook is where the real decisions sit. Capital thresholds, reserve audits, and issuer eligibility are the levers that decide whether the law invites competition or concentrates issuance among a few large banks.
Overview
South Korea's financial regulator says the Digital Asset Basic Act is in final-stage talks, covering exchange licensing and stablecoin issuance rules. The exchange licensing pillar would replace the current AML-registration approach with a formal authorization regime. The stablecoin pillar opens a path to regulated won-pegged tokens, the detail most likely to pull banks and payment firms into the market. No capital requirements, issuer list, or effective date has been published yet, and the announcement reflects progress rather than an enacted law. Major tokens were little changed on the day the statement landed.
