South Korea draft bill puts stablecoins, RWAs under finance laws: Report
09.04.2026
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South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is reportedly preparing a draft bill that would classify stablecoins as foreign exchange payment instruments and require tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) to be backed by assets held in trust.
South Korea’s ruling party is drafting a bill that would treat stablecoins as foreign exchange payment instruments and require tokenized RWAs to be backed by assets held in trust.
The Seoul Economic Daily reported on Wednesday that the draft Digital Asset Basic Act would classify stablecoins used in cross-border transactions as “means of payment” under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. This means related businesses would fall under oversight even without separate registration.
The draft would also require issuers of tokenized RWAs to place underlying assets in managed trusts under the Capital Markets Act. If implemented, this would bring stablecoins and tokenized RWAs under existing financial rules, tightening oversight of cross-border flows and setting custody requirements for underlying assets.
Cointelegraph could not independently verify the draft provisions through a public National Assembly filing as of Wednesday.
Stablecoin draft targets cross-border use, bans interest
The Seoul Economic Daily also reported that the draft would exempt certain stablecoin payments for goods and services from foreign exchange reporting requirements within a defined scope.
The draft reportedly bars issuers from paying interest to holders of value-stable digital assets, regardless of how the incentive is labeled. It would also require the Financial Services Commission to establish technical standards aimed at ensuring interoperability across digital asset networks.
New draft would move tokenization into existing structures
On the RWA side, the draft would reportedly require issuers to place linked assets in managed trusts under the Capital Markets Act. This would tie tokenized asset issuance to existing custody frameworks.
Key issues like exchange ownership limits and bank-related requirements for stablecoin issuers were not included in the draft, according to the report. These omissions come amid broader disagreements over how the bill should regulate stablecoins. On Dec. 31, disagreements over stablecoin oversight and issuer requirements had delayed the Digital Asset Basic Act.
#RWA#digital asset legislation#regulation#stablecoins#South Korea
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