[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul, November 2, 2025 — The South Korean government is preparing to strengthen internal control and soundness regulations for major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Dunamu (operator of Upbit) and Bithumb, amid concerns that large-scale digital asset platforms have grown into quasi-financial conglomerates with limited regulatory oversight.
According to government sources, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will this month launch a policy study analyzing the current regulatory framework governing cryptocurrency-focused business groups. The study will assess whether leading exchanges can be designated as “financial conglomerates” — a classification that would impose stricter requirements on internal controls, capital adequacy, and risk management reporting.
An FTC official said there are growing calls to apply financial-group-level regulations to Dunamu and Bithumb, comparable to those applied to major financial holding companies such as Samsung Group or Mirae Asset Group.
Currently, both Dunamu and Bithumb are designated as large business groups under Korea’s fair trade rules —
Cross-shareholding restricted business group: assets exceeding 0.5% of national GDP.
Publicly disclosed business group: assets above ₩5 trillion.
If reclassified as financial conglomerates, they would be required to submit detailed credit risk assessments and intra-group contagion prevention plans, aligning cryptocurrency businesses with mainstream financial-sector supervision for the first time.
Analysts view the move as part of Korea’s broader effort to close regulatory blind spots in the fast-growing digital asset industry, following the sector’s rapid expansion and rising systemic importance in domestic markets.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
