South Korean think tank calls for crypto regulatory revamp ahead of U.S. legislation

Analysts from a Korean think tank have suggested that South Korea should overhaul its regulatory framework for digital assets to align with the crypto policies expected from the incoming U.S. administration under President-elect Donald Trump. In a Jan. 3 report, Kim Kap-rae and Hwang Sei-woon, researchers at the Korea Capital Market Institute (KCMI), emphasized that Korea needs to develop a regulatory framework tailored to its own needs. This comes in response to anticipated U.S. legislation, including the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), which is expected to significantly influence the global regulatory landscape for digital assets. The researchers also highlighted the necessity for the Korean central bank to establish a comprehensive system to oversee central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and related payment systems in the new era of tokenization led by the U.S., as well as a framework for regulating stablecoins.