South Korea Lifts 9-Year ‘Shadow Ban,’ Allows 3,500 Firms to Invest in Crypto
South Korea has lifted a nine-year “shadow ban” that effectively prevented listed firms from holding or investing in cryptocurrencies, clearing the way for roughly 3,500 companies to include digital assets on their balance sheets. The move signals a major policy shift toward normalizing corporate participation in the crypto ecosystem and could unlock fresh institutional demand for spot markets and regulated products.
Officials clarified that stablecoins like USDC and USDT are still expected to be excluded under the updated framework, a constraint likely aimed at limiting systemic risk and preserving monetary oversight. That carve-out will temper some corporate use cases — particularly treasury management and domestic payments — but the broader opening still matters: it can boost liquidity for local exchanges, encourage more token listings and channel corporate capital into non-stablecoin crypto investments while regulators monitor market stability.