South Korea Considers 5% Limit on Corporate Crypto Holdings

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is reviewing rules that would cap listed companies’ cryptocurrency investments at 5% of equity capital, marking a significant step toward easing restrictions on institutional crypto trading.

Seoul Economic Daily reported that the FSC has drafted guidelines for listed companies and professional investors, with a final version expected by January or February. Corporate trading under the new rules could begin later this year.

Under the proposal, eligible firms could allocate up to 5% of their equity annually to digital assets, restricted to the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market value. Whether U.S. dollar stablecoins such as USDT would be included remains under discussion.

The limit aims to manage balance-sheet risk and reduce volatility as corporate participation grows. Safeguards like split trading rules and price limits are also expected. Analysts anticipate that flows will primarily focus on bitcoin and ether, even if the investable universe includes 20 tokens.

Investors are also watching the upcoming Digital Asset Basic Act, expected in Q1, which could set rules for stablecoins and spot crypto ETFs.