Last year, the issue of whether to allow corporate accounts for virtual assets, which had stirred up the virtual asset industry, was not resolved and ultimately extended into the new year. The industry is expecting the approval of corporate accounts this year and is devising various business strategies.
According to the virtual asset industry on the 2nd, the Financial Services Commission has yet to decide on the issuance of corporate accounts that can handle virtual assets. The Commission is currently in consultation with relevant departments, including the Financial Supervisory Service, and has decided to hold the second meeting of the Virtual Asset Committee, its advisory body, this month to discuss the details. Consequently, it is anticipated that the approval of corporate investments in virtual assets will be at least after the meeting.
In November last year, the financial authorities decided to allow the issuance of corporate accounts within the year and have been coordinating opinions with the Financial Supervisory Service after receiving advice from the first Virtual Asset Committee. Additionally, internally, the Financial Services Commission set guidelines to gradually allow account issuance starting with non-profit corporations such as schools and public institutions.
The background to the Financial Services Commission postponing the announcement of corporate account approval for virtual assets is the urgent current issues. The financial authorities are currently focused on stabilizing the unstable financial market caused by last month's martial law situation and impeachment. Kim Byung-Hwan, the chairman of the Financial Services Commission, noted in his New Year's address the day before, "I will prioritize market stability and people's livelihoods in our policies." In such circumstances, the virtual asset industry is inevitably pushed to a lower priority, and the industry analyzes that there will be a significant burden regarding granting access to a new market.
The virtual asset industry is busy moving, expecting that corporate investments in virtual assets will soon be permitted. If corporations enter the virtual asset market, various business areas will open up, including not only coin investments but also settling sales payments in coins or initiating new virtual asset businesses. Bithumb, the second-largest exchange by trading volume in the country, has newly established a corporate sales team and is recruiting personnel, while Upbit, the largest, is also internally planning for corporate investment approval.
The virtual asset custody market, which stores and manages customers' digital assets for a fee, has also been bustling. On the 30th of last month, Woori Bank announced that it had signed a business agreement for innovative technology for custody with BDAKS, which was newly registered as a virtual asset custody company last year. Earlier, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank also established virtual asset custody firms in cooperation with blockchain companies, and Hana Bank invested in BitGo, a virtual asset custody company.
Industry insiders say that the financial authorities will have no choice but to eventually allow corporate investments in virtual assets. The prosecution and the National Tax Service already hold accounts for the confiscation and disposal of virtual assets, and major universities are also unable to utilize the virtual assets received as donations, as they lack won accounts to convert them into cash.
Additionally, the participation of corporations in the virtual asset market is recognized as an essential step for market activation and industrial advancement. An industry official stated, "The financial authorities established a dedicated team for virtual assets last year and are willing to nurture the industry, but as long as corporations continue to be excluded, the industry cannot progress," adding, "Internally, guidelines have already been established, and the approval of corporate accounts is essentially just around the corner."