CJ ONE to Sell 3,000 NFTs for New Membership Service

With the general election just over a month away, South Korea’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) has retracted its campaign pledges to allow trading of spot bitcoin ETFs, local media outlet Chosun Biz reported. The PPP has previously drawn substantial attention from the crypto industry, as the party showed its intention to ease a range of crypto regulations in hopes of gaining more votes in the general election.  A political insider familiar with the issue said yesterday that the PPP has recently removed crypto-related agendas from its priority list. The crypto pledges, initially planned to be announced last week, have been permanently suspended, the person said. “The leaders of the PPP are currently focusing on nomination for local constituencies and its satellite People’s Future Party, rather than coming up with additional crypto agendas. As the PPP appears to be embarking on the election campaign starting in March, the likelihood of the ruling party releasing crypto pledges is very slim,” another political circle insider mentioned.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashTalks between PPP and FSC go in vainThe PPP’s decision to retract crypto-related pledges comes after its attempt to approve the introduction and trading of spot bitcoin ETFs met with opposition from the Financial Services Commission (FSC).  Unlike the PPP or its opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) that scrambled to ease crypto regulations ahead of the general election, the FSC’s stance on viewing crypto assets as risky hasn’t changed much. Despite last month’s approval of spot bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the FSC continues to ban the issuance of crypto-based financial products or investments in them, stating that crypto assets are not defined as underlying assets under the current Capital Markets Act. This has gotten in the way of the PPP’s plan to delay taxation on crypto gains for as long as two years and allow institutional investments in virtual assets.  The PPP also had to verify all the party members to see if any of them had a record of wrongdoings related to crypto transactions, which further delayed the pledges. This shows politicians’ heightened awareness of crypto-related issues. Last year, the DPK lawmaker Kim Nam-guk made headlines for a scandal, as he was accused of failing to report a considerable amount of crypto assets transactions to the financial authority. PPP lags a step behind its opposition DPKThe DPK has also strived to come up with crypto pledges alongside the PPP. The crypto-related pledges released by the DPK so far largely overlap with those of the PPP, meaning there’s no particular merit to the PPP’s campaign vows leading up to the general election. Many see this as another reason for the PPP’s decision to withdraw crypto pledges. The DPK unveiled its plan on Feb. 21 to legalize spot bitcoin ETFs, and pledged to deduct taxes on crypto gains worth less than KRW 50 million ($37,400). Under the current law, only crypto gains that are worth less than KRW 2.5 million qualify for the tax deduction. Most of these pledges largely align with those of the PPP.  With the PPP’s withdrawal of its plan to ease crypto regulations, the excitement among crypto industry insiders for the upcoming general election appears to have subsided. “Despite the DPK’s promise to allow spot bitcoin ETFs, it is unlikely that we’ll see crypto assets being incorporated into the conventional financial system without the ruling party’s approval, let alone fostering the blockchain industry,” said one crypto insider. 

South Korea’s financial regulator is preparing a second major cryptocurrency bill that would expand investor protections, strengthen stablecoin safeguards, and potentially impose governance changes at the country’s largest exchanges, as domestic token projects warn that regulatory uncertainty is curbing growth. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is drafting the Digital Asset Basic Act, a so-called “phase two” bill that follows an earlier virtual asset user protection regime which took effect in July 2024. According to Yonhap News, the bill is expected to address stablecoin risks by requiring issuers to hold reserve assets in instruments such as bank deposits and government bonds, and to deposit or place in trust at least 100% of outstanding issuance with banks or other designated custodians. It would also extend existing financial-sector rules to crypto firms in areas including disclosures, terms and conditions, and advertising. In addition, the proposal could impose no-fault liability on virtual asset service providers for losses stemming from hacks or system failures, in line with standards under Korea’s Electronic Financial Transactions Act, which governs traditional financial institutions and payment services.Photo by Timothy Ries on UnsplashGovernance dominance at exchangesA separate report by KBS said the draft bill includes measures to overhaul governance at South Korea’s four major crypto exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit—which together serve about 11 million users. The FSC has raised concerns about concentrated control by founders and major shareholders, and is considering a governance framework similar to that applied to alternative trading systems (ATS) under Korea’s Capital Markets Act. That could include limits designed to prevent any single shareholder from holding too much control, capping controlling stakes at around 15% to 20%. Under Korea’s current Capital Markets Act, an ATS is generally barred from holding more than 15% of voting shares, including those held by related parties, with limited exceptions allowing stakes of up to 30%. If similar limits were applied to crypto exchanges, the changes could affect Dunamu, the operator of Upbit. Dunamu Chairman Song Chi-hyung holds a stake in the mid-20% range and, under the proposal as described, could face pressure to sell roughly 10% of his holdings. The proposal could have implications for the deal, as Dunamu is pursuing a merger with Naver Financial through a comprehensive stock swap. While the bill’s broad outlines are taking shape, regulators are still working to narrow differences over stablecoin rules, and the final proposal is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly next year. Key unresolved issues include eligibility requirements for stablecoin issuers, whether to establish an interagency consultative body during the licensing process, initial capital thresholds, and whether a single entity should be allowed to both issue and distribute stablecoins. The core dispute centers on who should be allowed to issue stablecoins. The Bank of Korea is said to favor limiting issuance to consortia in which banks hold at least a 51% stake, while the FSC is believed to oppose writing a mandatory bank ownership threshold into law, arguing that such a requirement could limit broader participation by technology firms. ‘Kimchi coin’ listings stall amid cautionEven as policymakers push ahead, regulatory uncertainty is curbing growth among South Korean blockchain projects. News1 reported that Upbit listed only one token from a domestic project in 2025, out of 54 tokens added for trading since the start of the year—the native token of Story, a peer-to-peer intellectual property network powered by blockchain and co-founded by Korean entrepreneur Lee Seung-yoon. Upbit also removed 10 tokens during the period, seven of which were so-called “kimchi coins,” a colloquial term for tokens originating in South Korea or developed by Korean teams. Industry participants attribute the removals to increasingly risk-averse behavior by exchanges amid regulatory uncertainty, which can complicate promotional efforts and trust-building while constraining early-stage liquidity. TradFi players seek crypto integrationsWhile local token projects face headwinds, interest from traditional financial institutions appears to be picking up. Chosun Biz reported that Mirae Asset Financial Group is considering an acquisition of Korbit, with its non-financial affiliate Mirae Asset Consulting seen as a potential buyer of shares from major shareholders NXC and SK Planet. Industry analysts estimate the deal could be worth up to 140 billion won ($97 million). The group’s founder, Park Hyeon-joo, has said he is developing a strategy to bridge traditional and digital assets, arguing that it is time to prepare for the next wave of financial innovation. In payments, EBN Industrial News reported that BC Card has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase to test USDC payments in South Korea. The pilot would integrate BC Card’s QR payment system with wallets on Coinbase’s Base blockchain to assess whether USDC can function as a viable payment method at local merchants. 

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), the independent government agency that regulates activity within Taiwan’s securities, virtual assets, banking and insurance sectors, is planning to invite applications from financial institutions to participate in a crypto custody services pilot program, scheduled to commence in Q1 2025. The Central News Agency (CNA), the national news agency of the Republic of China, published a report on Oct. 8, outlining the FSC’s intentions with regard to this crypto custody pilot program. The media outlet confirmed that three Taiwanese banks had expressed an interest in participating in the program.  The Director of the FSC’s Comprehensive Planning Division, Hu Zehua, outlined at a press conference that the regulator is planning to provide further information relative to the pilot program 15 days in advance of inviting applications from prospective participants. Photo by 張 峻嘉 on UnsplashPublic consultationAdditionally, the FSC executive outlined that the regulator intends to collect feedback from the public relative to the proposed pilot program, and fine-tune the process based upon that feedback. Hu stated that he recognizes that based on crypto custody activity carried out overseas, operational security is of paramount importance. Therefore, the FSC is interested in placing emphasis on this aspect of the activity as part of the pilot program.  Illicit funds and money laundering is another area of concern. With that the FSC executive outlined that financial institutions must proactively block virtual assets that are found to originate from illicit sources. In August a Taiwanese couple was indicted for laundering around $50 million in illegal funds through cryptocurrencies. Earlier this month, the FSC revised Taiwan’s regulatory framework relative to anti-money laundering (AML). The update now requires digital assets firms to register with the Taiwanese government by no later than September 2025. Failure to do so may result in these crypto companies being fined up to $156,000 or company executives facing up to two years in prison. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin mentionedPilot program applicants will be expected to specify the type of digital assets they intend to custody. Explanatory information released by the FSC gave Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin as examples. Additionally, applicants are required to outline the type of client they will cater towards in providing a crypto custody service. Among the examples mentioned were virtual asset platforms, professional investors and general investors. The FSC announced at the end of last month that professional investors are now permitted to access foreign virtual asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and invest in them through a re-entrustment method. Taiwan has been making progress recently in bringing about regulatory clarity and establishing conditions within which Web3 companies can develop. The FSC had been working towards the production of draft crypto regulations over recent months. This followed a move by Taiwanese legislators in October 2024 to introduce the Virtual Asset Management Bill to parliament, with the objective of strengthening customer protections and establishing industry supervision. In September, the regulator released guidelines, including a measure which bans overseas crypto platforms from operating within the country.