South Korea drafts unified stablecoin crypto bill

TLDR

South Koreas top financial regulator is preparing a single Digital Asset Basic Act to unify stablecoin and broader crypto rules, but the bill is still in draft form and politically contested.

1. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans one government backed bill that would merge around 10 existing crypto and stablecoin proposals into a unified Digital Asset Basic Act.
2. The framework would set rules for stablecoin issuance, exchange operations, disclosures, and user protection, going beyond South Koreas current Virtual Asset User Protection Act.
3. Key fights over who can issue won stablecoins and how much ownership major exchanges can hold mean timing, details, and market impact remain uncertain.

Deep Dive

1. One Consolidated Crypto Law

On July 29, 2026, South Koreas FSC told the National Assembly it will prepare a consolidated Digital Asset Basic Act with the ruling Democratic Party, aiming to merge roughly 10 pending crypto and stablecoin bills into one proposal this year. Reports describe a government backed bill covering stablecoins and the wider digital asset market, replacing todays fragmented draft laws and becoming the second stage of South Koreas crypto legislation after the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.Digital Asset Basic Act summary

The bill is not yet filed in final form and wording can change, but the political signal is clear: regulators want a single, comprehensive statute that legislators can negotiate instead of multiple overlapping drafts.FSC consolidation plan

2. What It Would Regulate

According to multiple reports, the Digital Asset Basic Act would:

1. Define what counts as a digital asset business and set conduct rules for issuers and service providers.
2. Create a legal framework for stablecoin issuance and circulation, including reserve, disclosure, and anti money laundering requirements.Stablecoin coverage
3. Tighten exchange entry standards, disclosure obligations, internal controls, and IT system resilience, bringing them closer to financial institution standards.FSC framework description

This would sit alongside, and extend beyond, the existing Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which mainly addresses custody and unfair trading practices instead of market structure and issuers.

3. Disputes And What To Watch

Two unresolved issues are shaping the bill:

1. Whether won backed stablecoin issuers must be bank led consortia holding at least around 50 percent plus one share, a model favored by the Bank of Korea for monetary stability, versus licensed non bank issuers under reserve and audit rules.Bank led issuer debate
2. Ownership caps for major crypto exchanges, which could limit how much equity operators hold and affect platforms like Upbit and Bithumb.Exchange ownership questions

At the same time, a separate opposition push to repeal a planned 22 percent crypto tax from January 1, 2027 is moving through committees but has not changed current law.Crypto tax timeline

Confidence: moderate because the framework and disputes are well reported, but the draft text and final timetable are not yet public.

Conclusion

South Korea is moving toward a single, comprehensive law for stablecoins and digital assets, which would materially reshape rules for issuers, exchanges, and users.

For crypto market participants, the main practical signal is that Korea is seeking tighter, bank influenced stablecoin oversight and more formal exchange regulation, but until the Digital Asset Basic Act is finalized, the exact compliance burdens and opportunities remain in flux.