Korea May Scrap Cryptocurrency Exchange "One Bank Account per Exchange" Rule, Regulators Assess Market Competition Impact

BlockBeats News, January 20th, according to local media reports, the South Korean financial regulator is evaluating whether to end the long-standing practice of "one exchange, one bank" in the cryptocurrency exchange sector. The review, coordinated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Fair Trade Commission, aims to assess whether the current mechanism exacerbates market concentration.

The report points out that "one exchange, one bank" is not written into law but has gradually developed under anti-money laundering (AML) and customer due diligence requirements. Some studies suggest that this model may limit small and medium-sized exchanges' access to banking services, thereby solidifying the dominance of major platforms.

This discussion is also related to South Korea's progress on the second stage legislation of the "Digital Assets Basic Law." The bill plans to allow the issuance of a Korean won stablecoin, but there are still differences in regulatory framework and approval mechanisms, and the submission deadline has been postponed to 2026.