Seoul weighs letting crypto exchanges trade token securities as Bithumb fights regulators in court

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon told a National Assembly audit he would consider permitting token securities, securities issued on blockchain, to trade through crypto exchange infrastructure. Separately, the FSC’s anti-money-laundering Financial Intelligence Unit defended in Seoul Administrative Court a six-month partial suspension and 36.8 billion won fine against Bithumb over 45,772 transfers to 18 unregistered overseas providers. Bithumb argued its travel rule, which requires transfer details, automatically blocked large transfers and it had no legal right to collect details for smaller ones; its next hearing is January 28, 2027. Bank of Korea will require exchanges from December 2 to report month-end holdings for users who sent digital assets abroad or to private wallets since July 19, 2024.