BlockBeats News: On January 9, according to News1, the South Korean government plans to draft the "Digital Assets (Virtual Assets) Second Phase Act," which will include a regulatory framework for stablecoins, this year. It will also simultaneously introduce a regulatory plan for cross-border stablecoin transactions that will be implemented in conjunction with this bill.
In addition, digital asset spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are also planned to be introduced within this year.
The government released the "2026 Economic Growth Strategy," which includes the above-mentioned content, on the 5th. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is the main supervisory authority. First, the FSC will advance the second phase of legislation on digital assets. Regarding stablecoins, the following measures are expected to be included:
· Issuance licensing system (capital requirements, etc.)
Reserve Asset Management (Maintaining 100% or More of the Issuance Amount)
· Right of redemption, etc.
At the same time, a regulatory plan for cross-border stablecoin transfers and transactions linked to this bill will also be developed. The competent authorities will be the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Considering that Bitcoin spot ETFs have already become actively traded in other countries and regions such as the United States and Hong Kong, this plan also includes provisions to allow digital asset spot ETFs within this year. Previously in South Korea, because digital assets like Bitcoin were not recognized as underlying assets for ETFs, spot ETF trading was not possible.
In addition to stablecoins, the government also plans to advance a proposal to allocate a quarter of treasury funds in the form of digital currency, so-called "debt tokens," by 2030.
The government stated that it will revise the Bank of Korea Act and the State Treasury Fund Management Act after reviewing the results of pilot projects, and will establish a legal basis for blockchain-based payment and settlement systems within the year. In addition, it plans to promote the use of e-wallets that can be used for payment and settlement of business advancement expenses and other purposes.