**S Korean Regulator Denies Reports Claiming It Is About to Let Companies Buy Crypto**
The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) has denied reports claiming it is about to allow companies to purchase cryptocurrency using their balance sheets. According to Hanguk Kyungjae, the FSC told media representatives that these reports were “not true.”
**Will Regulator Let South Korean Companies Buy Crypto?**
At the beginning of the month, reports circulated suggesting that the FSC was ready to permit universities and schools to exchange donations made in cryptocurrency for fiat currency. The reports claimed that this would be the first step in a roadmap, which would eventually allow South Korean firms to purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
The reports also claimed that the FSC would allow “ordinary” firms to buy crypto before the banking sector.
“We are still discussing whether we will allow corporations [to buy and sell crypto]. The reports are not true. The Financial Services Commission’s Virtual Assets Division has not confirmed anything about this matter.”
— South Korean Financial Services Commission spokesperson
South Korean law does not explicitly prevent firms from holding cryptocurrency. However, to trade BTC, ETH, and other altcoins, private individuals must open bank accounts linked to cryptocurrency exchanges. The regulator’s guidelines instruct financial institutions to reject such applications from corporate clients.
**Bitcoin ETF Approval Facing Further Delay?**
Earlier reports claimed that government ministries, local government agencies, universities, and charities would be allowed to liquidate any cryptocurrency holdings “in the first half of 2025.” Some South Korean companies are upset, claiming that they have been left behind by international rivals in the US and Japan. American firms such as MicroStrategy and Japanese companies like Remixpoint have accumulated significant Bitcoin reserves in recent years.
However, the FSC has refused to allow South Korean companies to do the same, citing the need for further discussion. The same FSC spokesperson also denied reports suggesting that the regulator had set a timetable for approving cryptocurrency spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The official called these reports “completely groundless,” adding:
“We have not discussed the timing of the launch of virtual asset ETFs.”
**‘Huge Demand’**
Other media outlets, citing anonymous sources, have claimed that the FSC is still consulting with “ministries, organizations, and private experts” before deciding on new cryptocurrency regulations. They suggest that the FSC is hesitant to allow companies to buy and hold cryptocurrency, fearing that approval could further drive up the already high demand for crypto exchange and custody services.
Earlier this month, Kim Seo-jun, the CEO of the blockchain accelerator Hashed, spoke about “a huge institutional demand for Bitcoin ETFs” in South Korea and beyond.