Bank of Korea Seeks Monthly Crypto Transfer Reporting

The Bank of Korea is pushing for a plan that requires monthly reporting of the domestic virtual asset balances of users who have a history of overseas virtual asset transfer transactions, sparking controversy. Bank of Korea eyes monthly crypto balance reports. (Yonhap) The Bank of Korea stated on Oct. 23 that it is discussing the final reporting format through consultations with virtual asset service providers and related institutions. According to the Foreign Exchange Computer Network Reporting Business Manual for Virtual Asset Transfer Service Providers secured by Representative Park Soo-young of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee, the Bank of Korea is establishing a transaction information reporting system with such details to prevent illegal foreign exchange transactions through cross-border virtual asset transfers. This is part of measures to strengthen the monitoring of cross-border virtual asset transfers in accordance with the enforcement of the amended Foreign Exchange Transactions Act on Dec. 3. The government plans to mandate the reporting of virtual asset transfer details to the Bank of Korea, the foreign exchange information concentration agency, and share the related information with the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Service, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit to utilize it for investigating illegal foreign exchange transactions. According to the manual delivered by the Bank of Korea to the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance on Oct. 2, virtual asset exchanges must report the details of virtual asset outflows and inflows completed on the same day to the Bank of Korea by 11:00 a.m. the following day. The sender and receiver, transaction details, and resident registration numbers are subject to reporting. A monthly balance report containing the personal information and holding balances of virtual asset holders must also be submitted. The Bank of Korea required that users be included in the reporting target if they have made even a single virtual asset transfer transaction since July 19, 2024. The balance report also includes dormant accounts, delisted virtual assets, and staked assets. The Bank of Korea’s position is that the submitted manual is a kind of draft and that the final version will be confirmed after discussions with relevant parties. An official from the Bank of Korea stated, “We are re-conducting discussions in a way that includes service providers with transaction histories from December of this year, which is the time of enforcement of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, in the reporting target.” Regarding the disclosure scope of the monthly balance report, the official explained, “We are looking for a direction that can strike a balance between the intent of the law amendment and the effectiveness of monitoring while easing the burden on virtual asset service providers.” The Bank of Korea plans to finalize the related final reporting format next month. According to Representative Park Soo-young, a total of 1,272,878 users have a history of cross-border virtual asset transfer transactions at the five major domestic exchanges from July 19, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2026. Representative Park pointed out, “Looking into all the information of virtual asset users just because they have used an overseas transfer transaction even once is an excessive act of collecting personal information,” and added, “If personal information, assets, and transaction details are excessively collected in addition to the taxation on virtual assets, the related market could shrink further.”