Starting June 2025, South Korea’s FSC will allow non-profits to sell donated crypto and exchanges to liquidate user fees paid in crypto assets

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has announced that from June 2025 non‑profit organizations such as charities and universities will be allowed to sell cryptocurrency donations, and domestic crypto exchanges will be permitted to liquidate user fees collected in crypto assets. This marks a shift from earlier restrictions that effectively prevented many institutions from opening exchange accounts or disposing of donated digital assets, leaving them unable to convert crypto into Korean won. The measures are part of a broader roadmap to gradually open the digital asset market to more institutional participants while maintaining strict controls on how they interact with crypto. To address risks of money laundering and market manipulation, the new regime is paired with stricter AML/KYC and operational rules for both non‑profits and exchanges. Non‑profits handling crypto donations must meet higher verification standards, use real‑name bank accounts connected to regulated exchanges, and comply with rules on which tokens can be accepted and how they are converted. Exchanges, meanwhile, will face limits on how they sell their own crypto holdings and user‑fee balances, including caps on daily liquidation amounts, restrictions to more liquid tokens, and bans on self‑selling on their own platforms to reduce conflicts of interest and price distortions. For the crypto sector, the changes are significant because they normalize some institutional use of digital assets and expand potential on‑ramps for organizations, while signaling that any such liberalization will be closely tied to tighter compliance obligations and detailed supervisory guidelines from the FSC.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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