The Bank of Korea will track cryptocurrency holdings of users with records of international transfers.
The Bank of Korea has introduced new reporting requirements mandating that cryptocurrency exchanges within South Korea disclose monthly holdings of users who have transferred digital assets overseas.
- Starting December 2, South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges must report monthly holdings of users who have transferred digital assets overseas.
- Even if the relevant user did not make any overseas transfers in a given month, the reporting obligation still applies as long as they hold assets that require declaration.
- When calculating monthly balances for the Bank of Korea, exchanges must include dormant accounts, delisted cryptocurrencies, and assets used for staking.
- The Bank of Korea has not yet decided whether exchanges must submit historical transaction records追溯至2024年7月19日.
According to local media Digital Asset on October 23, the Bank of Korea has prepared a new reporting framework that will take effect on December 2, applying to users who have transferred cryptocurrency to an overseas exchange or personal wallet at least once since July 19, 2024.
The details are outlined in a manual obtained by People Power Party lawmaker Park Soo-young. The document, titled "Foreign Exchange Information Network Filing Manual for Virtual Asset Transfer Service Providers," introduces a new monthly report numbered FX1021.
After the system takes effect, the exchange and other covered service providers must report the end-of-month holdings of eligible users, even if those users did not conduct any international transfers during the reporting month.
The reporting requirement remains applicable in months when the relevant user has not made any international transfers, as long as they continue to hold the reportable assets.
The Bank of Korea sets monthly reporting requirements for crypto assets.
Under the new reporting system, service providers must submit information including the amount of cryptocurrency held by each eligible user, the Korean won value of these holdings, and the total value of digital asset inflows and outflows from Korea for the month.
According to the Digital Asset manual, balances must be calculated at 11:59:59 PM on the last calendar day of each month, regardless of whether that date is a business day.
The exchange must submit the report by 5:30 PM on the 10th of the following month via the Bank of Korea's Foreign Exchange Information Network.
The reporting scope includes not only cryptocurrencies currently tradable on exchanges within South Korea.
Service providers must also include assets in dormant accounts, delisted cryptocurrencies, and digital assets committed to staking arrangements in their statistics.
For assets whose prices cannot be determined by domestic exchanges, including certain airdropped tokens or delisted tokens, the manual permits valuation based on prices from other Korean exchanges or CoinMarketCap.
The manual also outlines how accounts with no remaining cryptocurrency are handled. If a user closes their exchange account or has a zero balance during a reporting month, the user must still be included in that month’s report.
Unless a balance reappears, this user will no longer appear in subsequent reports; once a balance is restored, reporting will resume.
Historical crypto transfer records are still under review.
The Bank of Korea has designated July 19, 2024, as the start date for identifying eligible international crypto transfer history users.
This date aligns with the implementation of South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which establishes investor protection requirements for cryptocurrency service providers operating within South Korea.
However, the Bank of Korea has not yet decided whether exchanges must submit historical transaction records covering the period from July 19, 2024, to the launch of the reporting system.
According to the handbook, the Bank of Korea intends to consult with virtual asset transfer service providers before deciding whether to retroactively request these records.
South Korea continues to tighten regulations on overseas cryptocurrency transfers.
These reporting requirements are part of South Korea’s ongoing adjustments to its digital asset foreign exchange regulations.
In May of this year, South Korea’s legislative body approved amendments to foreign exchange-related laws, introducing registration requirements for businesses handling international cryptocurrency transfers. The amendments also established a separate legal category for virtual asset transfer service providers.
Subsequently, regulators began reviewing the licensing requirements for fintech companies seeking to provide international digital asset transfer services.
The proposed framework is expected to apply not only to cryptocurrency exchanges but also to qualified enterprises developing blockchain-based remittance and foreign exchange products.
In August, South Korea approved stricter controls on overseas cryptocurrency transfers, introducing risk-based reviews for transactions involving overseas exchanges and self-custody wallets.
As previously reported by crypto.news, these changes include additional monitoring requirements for transfers of at least 10 million Korean won and permit restrictions on transactions involving high-risk overseas counterparties.
The amendment also separately eliminated the previous 1 million KRW Travel Rule threshold applicable to transfers between registered domestic virtual asset service providers, requiring identity information to be provided regardless of transaction size.
Another concern of South Korea's regulators is the continued growth in international cryptocurrency trading volume.
Data released in June showed that cryptocurrency remittances through major exchanges have increased by 380% since 2022, reaching KRW 163.55 trillion by 2025.
During the same period, the international transfer volume of South Korea's five major banks increased by 20%, reaching approximately 1,590 trillion Korean won last year.