What happened
A policy report circulating in Seoul on Wednesday recommended that South Korean regulators publish interim stablecoin licensing guidance rather than wait for the Digital Asset Basic Act (DABA) to pass in full, CoinTelegraph reported. The document, aimed at the Financial Services Commission and lawmakers drafting DABA, argues that stablecoin issuers need clarity on reserves, redemption, and custody now, not after a multi-year legislative cycle.
It proposes greater operational flexibility for issuers during the bridge window, including narrower reserve-composition rules and a lighter approval track for won-pegged tokens issued by regulated financial institutions. The report stops short of naming specific issuers, but its framing tracks the lobbying position domestic banks and fintechs have pushed since late 2025.
Why it matters
South Korea is one of the deepest retail crypto markets in Asia, and it has been legislating in fits and starts since the Virtual Asset User Protection Act took effect in 2024. DABA was meant to be the follow-up covering issuance, stablecoins, and market structure. It isn't close to a final vote.
An interim licensing regime would let won-pegged stablecoins launch inside a defined perimeter without waiting for the full statute, and that is a meaningful shift. It gives Korean banks a runway to compete with dollar-denominated USDC and USDT flows on domestic exchanges, and it tells global issuers that Seoul is willing to move on rules rather than freeze the market. The report doesn't have force of law.
It does shape the FSC's talking points.