| KOREA SIGNAL | by Holo Hive |
Deferral consensus forms across parties. DP leader promises a decision within the year. Presidential office reviews a ~2-year delay, then says nothing is decided.
As of October 26, the tax is still scheduled for January 1, 2027 (22% on annual gains above ₩2.5M, first filing May 2028). On October 20, Vice Minister Kwon Dae-young of the finance ministry met the FSC, Dunamu, Bithumb, DigitalX, Coinone, Gopax's operator, DAXA and experts behind closed doors. Industry asked for clear criteria, time to build and test reporting systems, and equal treatment with offshore-exchange users. Kwon said the government respects the principle of taxing income but will "comprehensively review" readiness. No decision was made.
On October 21, PPP policy deputy chair Park Soo-young appeared at the National Assembly with six young investors to ask for at least a two-year deferral to 2029, plus loss carry-forward and loss offsetting. The same day, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said the Assembly and government would find a "reasonable solution." On October 22, he said it will be decided within the year and asked Deputy PM Lee Hyung-il for a "final review." The NTS told the audit its guidance timeline runs: draft finalised October 30, pre-review November 6, administrative pre-notice November 30, effective January 1. It also acknowledged that offshore and DEX coverage depends on the international CARF data-sharing framework.
On October 25–26, a presidential office official said it is "reviewing delaying about two more years," citing the US joining CARF only in 2029 and the fact that people in their 20s and 30s make up 44% of exchange users. The next morning the office said "nothing decided, under review." DP floor leader Han Byung-do signalled on October 27 that the party will review a two-year delay or tying the start to the Digital Asset Basic Act. Civic groups including PSPD publicly opposed deferral. The Democratic Party's Rep. Park Min-gyu has a bill on file that would start the tax on January 1 of the second year after Korea's first CARF data exchange, effectively 2029.
Bank of Korea will require daily cross-border flow reports and monthly balances for anyone who has ever sent crypto offshore. Effective December 3.
Under the revised Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, effective December 3, exchanges must report each day's crypto outflows and inflows by 11:00 the next day. They must also report monthly the domestic balances, linked to resident registration numbers, of any user who has ever transferred crypto offshore. The Bank of Korea manual was sent to DAXA on October 2 and disclosed by PPP Rep. Park Soo-young on October 23. The NTS has separately commissioned work to compile year-end statistics on the largest holders by exchange, including cross-chain and mixer analysis.
Community reaction was hostile, with commentary that "everyone will just move on-chain" and a contrast drawn with Korea still not letting domestic exchanges offer lending, earn, futures or stablecoins. The reporting regime continues the previous week's offshore perimeter tightening (27 unregistered exchange sites blocked; offshore Korean-stock perpetuals declared illegal to solicit). No new site blocks or perpetuals enforcement were reported this week.
Still no government Basic Act bill. FSC chair "sympathises" with tokenised securities on crypto exchanges. Bithumb's FIU lawsuit hearing held.
The government's Digital Asset Basic Act (phase two) and won-stablecoin bill have still not been submitted. At the October 22 FSC audit, Chair Lee Eok-won was pressed on bank-led stablecoin issuance, and the "banks 50% + 1 share" requirement for issuers remains unresolved. Rep. Min Byung-deok criticised the Bank of Korea being left off the FSC's Virtual Asset Committee. In a written answer to Rep. Lee Kang-il, the FSC said it is reviewing Basic Act safeguards for exchange "public nature and neutrality" and wants exchanges serving around 10 million users to hold adequate capital. The Naver–Dunamu merger still awaits Fair Trade Commission and major-shareholder approvals, with the share exchange previously pushed to March 2027.
The FSC chair also said he "sympathises" with letting crypto exchanges trade tokenised securities and will review it alongside investor protection and licensing. The first hearing in Bithumb's lawsuit against its FIU sanction (a six-month suspension of new customers' external transfers over transactions with 18 unregistered operators) was held on October 22, with the suspension on hold pending judgment; Coinone's hearing is November 25. The FSS issued an alert on the fake GIWA chain scam, with losses of roughly ₩2.7–2.8B. The Bank of Korea held its base rate at 3.00%. In the US, the OCC finalised its GENIUS Act rule, effective January 18, 2027 — a reference point for the ongoing won-stablecoin design debate.
KOSPI at a seven-month low, ~40% below its June peak. BTC loses $80K. The won strengthens to ~1,325 per dollar. Retail mood exhausted and defensive.
KOSPI closed at 5,469.47 on October 26 (−1.46%), its lowest close since April 6, with KOSDAQ at 727.21 (−3.26%). KOSPI is roughly 40% below its June peak of 9,114.55. On October 23 it traded as low as 5,314 after the Nasdaq fell 2.6% and the SOX semiconductor index fell 6.7% on AI-spend fears. FSS data showed retail investors lost ₩6.3T on single-stock leveraged products between May 27 and August 14. SK Hynix completed its ₩40T buyback early and stopped reviewing a planned US IPO of its Solidigm subsidiary after the FSC chair said it would fall under duplicate-listing rules.
BTC ranged from $79,221 to $84,898 across October 20–26, with the high on October 21 and the low on October 24, and closed the window near $80.1K. ETH ranged $2,282–$2,527. Liquidations ran at $307M on October 22 and $276M on October 23, mostly longs. Arthur Hayes said he closed all directional altcoin positions, with the widely shared view that BTC and ETH are being held up by ETFs while altcoin rallies are near-manipulation on thin volume.
USD/KRW held at roughly 1,321–1,328 all week, against about 1,380 ten days earlier and about 1,500 four months ago. The won's real value is up 11.7% in three months, according to the BIS. USDT holders who bought at ₩1,346–1,500 are sitting on 2–10% losses in won terms. The kimchi premium was 0.41% on October 21, peaked around 1.4–1.5% on October 24–25, and eased to 0.6–0.7% on October 26. Blockmedia reported that the five KRW exchanges traded approximately ₩20.2T on October 19–25, up 37.4% week-on-week, with Upbit at 64% share and a single token (IRYS) accounting for ₩1.77T — more than BTC. Structurally, H1 average daily volume was about ₩3.1T versus ₩6.4T a year earlier. Retail sentiment across community channels was exhausted and defensive: "everything is falling except the won." The tax news was the only clear lift.
Upbit lists AXIS on its TGE day. IRYS spikes ~1,000% then drops 85% in 30 minutes. Bithumb's PYBOBO listing draws community criticism.
Upbit listed AXIS (Axis Robotics) in KRW, BTC and USDT markets on October 21, the token's TGE day, with trading opening at 22:00 KST. It followed a Coinbase roadmap addition, Binance Alpha and OKX perpetuals within a 48-hour window; Bithumb listed AXIS in KRW on October 24. Upbit's launch quiz and volume-tier reward events (35,000 quiz slots) drew heavy farming activity, with community channels saying the reward events moved price more than the listing itself. It was a rare Upbit listing on TGE day.
On October 23–24, IRYS rose roughly 1,000% to about $0.53 around 04:00 KST, then fell 85% to $0.07 within 30 minutes, with community channels reporting around $60M in shorts liquidated. It briefly showed a reverse premium of more than 15% on Korean exchanges. Community channels read it as the clearest sign yet of thin-liquidity "junk coin" rotation in the KRW market.
Bithumb's October 21 KRW listing of Capybobo (PYBOBO) drew sustained criticism across community channels, which questioned the token's supply distribution, upcoming unlocks and single-venue volume, with a recurring line that regulators should scrutinise exchange listing quality as closely as offshore DeFi. Bithumb ran a second airdrop event for the token on October 23. After the Initia exploit (roughly $2.6–2.7M), Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone suspended INIT deposits and withdrawals, and INIT was designated a caution asset on October 26. Upbit's balance audit suspends some deposits and withdrawals from October 31 at 21:00 KST.
Shinhan stablecoin pilots for foreign patients and Japan-Korea payments. LG CNS × Chainlink. Dunamu × MoonPay exploring GIWA access.
Shinhan Bank and KSNET launched a limited pilot at a Seoul medical institution where foreign patients pay in stablecoin, converted offshore and settled to the hospital in won. Shinhan Card signed an MOU in Tokyo on October 20 with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC for a yen-stablecoin card, wallet and trade-settlement proof-of-concept. LG CNS and Chainlink announced a strategic partnership integrating Chainlink infrastructure into LG CNS's institutional platform, aimed at won stablecoin infrastructure. Dunamu and MoonPay are exploring stablecoin payments, corporate treasury and overseas access to Upbit's GIWA chain, with no terms disclosed. BDACS and Injective signed an MOU making the KRW1 won stablecoin the KRW settlement asset for Injective's real-world-asset products. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's megabanks finished a yen-stablecoin proof-of-concept targeting launch before March 2027, and HSBC's HKD stablecoin went live on PayMe.
| Token | Exchange | Date |
|---|---|---|
| MPLX Metaplex |
 KRW
|
Oct 20 18:30 KST |
| PYBOBO Capybobo |
 KRW
|
Oct 21 14:00 KST |
| AXIS Axis Robotics |
KRW, BTC, USDT
KRW
|
Oct 21 / Oct 24 |
| AT APRO |
KRW
|
Oct 21 22:00 KST |
| BMT Bubblemaps |
KRW
|
Oct 24 12:00 KST |
AXIS listed on Upbit on its TGE day (trading opened 22:00 KST Oct 21); Bithumb followed on Oct 24 at 12:00 KST.
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