South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance announced plans to advance the Digital Asset Basic Act in the second half of 2026, a sweeping piece of legislation that would bring crypto firmly into the nation’s formal asset management system.
The act covers issuance, trading, custody, and supervision of digital assets.
What’s actually in the bill
The Digital Asset Basic Act was first proposed to the National Assembly by the ruling Democratic Party in June 2025, with further details confirmed by April 2026. The July 14, 2026 announcement from the Ministry of Economy and Finance set a target for passage in the latter half of this year.
The framework categorizes digital assets into two distinct buckets, “general” and “asset-linked” types. Asset-linked tokens, which include stablecoins and other instruments pegged to real-world value, face stricter requirements.
