Korea bill stalls; banks talk Circle

South Korea is trying to write the rules for its digital-asset market, and it has managed to get stuck on the part that matters most to the people who already run it. The country’s proposed Digital Asset Basic Act was supposed to become the second major plank of Korea’s crypto framework. Instead, debate has stalled over whether large shareholders in crypto exchanges should be forced down to a minority stake, leaving the bill’s path through the National Assembly uncertain even as lawmakers prepare to reopen discussions on April 15. (en.sedaily.com) That fight is not a technical footnote. It goes to the basic question of what a Korean crypto exchange is supposed to be. Financial regulators have pushed to treat exchanges less like startup platforms and more like quasi-financial infrastructure, with governance rules closer to those imposed on institutions that hold the public’s money. In practice, that has meant proposals to cap major shareholders at roughly 15 to 20 percent. If that rule lands in the final bill, founders and controlling investors at local exchanges could be forced to sell down large positions. (en.sedaily.com) The bill was not meant to be only about ownership. Earlier drafts and related party discussions also pulled in stablecoin issuance, token listing standards, disclosure rules, and broader market structure. But the shareholder-cap dispute has become a choke point. Sedaily reported that outside events have not helped: legislative talks were delayed after late-February disruptions tied to the Middle East conflict, and the calendar is now crowded by elections and a coming change at the Bank of Korea. A law that was once framed as the next step in building a domestic digital-asset industry now looks vulnerable to simple drift. (en.sedaily.com) That legal drift is already shaping behavior. If lawmakers cannot decide who should own exchanges, banks are moving to the part of crypto that looks more legible to them: stablecoins and payments. KB Financial Group said Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire will come to Seoul on April 13 to meet senior management and discuss deeper cooperation. The reported agenda is broad but practical: domestic use of USDC, cross-border payments, and possible work on a won-backed stablecoin. (en.bloomingbit.io) That is the more revealing development. Korea’s biggest financial groups are not waiting for a grand digital-asset law to arrive before choosing sides in the market. They are building relationships with the companies that already issue the infrastructure they may want to use. This is not Circle’s first courtship in Seoul. Reports in recent months said senior Circle executives were meeting major Korean financial groups, and those banks were treating stablecoins as a future growth business rather than a fringe experiment. (en.bloomingbit.io) The contrast is sharp. The state is still arguing over whether exchange founders should be allowed to stay in control of their own platforms. Meanwhile, a top banking group is preparing for a face-to-face meeting with the head of the company behind USDC, one of the world’s largest dollar stablecoins, to discuss how that token might fit into Korean finance. The country’s crypto law is stalled in committee. Jeremy Allaire is still due in Seoul on April 13. (en.sedaily.com)