South Korean banks line up expansion as diaspora chooses crypto rails

South Korean crypto exchanges are now processing more cross-border money transfers than traditional banks, according to data reported in local news.

South Korea’s five largest won-denominated crypto exchanges recorded 163.55 trillion won ($125.8 billion) in cross-border transfers last year, a 380% increase from 34.02 trillion won in 2022. 

Why are banks investing in crypto companies?

From 2022 to 2025, South Korea’s five biggest banks only grew their foreign-currency remittance volume by 20%, reaching 159 trillion won. In the same frame of time, South Korean crypto exchanges handled 163.55 trillion won ($125.8 billion) in cross-border transfers. This is a 380% increase from 2022, when they handled just 34.02 trillion won. 

This is the first time that crypto exchanges have overtaken traditional banks in the total value of cross-border transfers.

Professor Hwang Seok-jin from Dongguk University says the main reason for the change is that crypto remittance fees are much lower than what banks charge. South Koreans living abroad and traders in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are choosing these cheaper, faster options.

Rather than fight the crypto trend, major South Korean banks have decided to join it by investing in crypto exchanges and building their own blockchain systems.

KBank, the banking partner for Upbit, announced a partnership with Ripple. They have already completed testing for a wallet-app-based remittance system and are currently working on testing stability in a virtual environment for transfers to the UAE and Thailand using Ripple’s Palisade software. 

Toss Bank, another digital lender with over 15 million customers, announced its own deal with Solana that focuses on using Solana’s technology for faster cross-border payments and settlements. 

Hana Bank committed about 1 trillion won ($720 million) for a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, Upbit’s parent company. Hanwha Investment Securities also received approval to increase its holdings, and Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card jointly acquired a 4% stake in the platform. Future Asset Consulting signed a deal to buy 92.06% of rival exchange Korbit. 

Tiger Research’s survey of 150 institutions and 196 cooperation cases found that the companies are competing for dominance around stablecoins, security token offerings, and crypto asset custody. 

Will South Korea’s new crypto rules affect banks and exchanges?

South Korea is passing laws to set comprehensive rules for the industry.

The National Assembly postponed the debate on South Korea’s new legal framework for crypto businesses called the Digital Asset Basic Act due to the June 3 local elections, and lawmakers are unlikely to revisit it until late this year. 

The bill is being held up due to a dispute between the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Bank of Korea (BOK) over stablecoin oversight. 

The BOK wants stablecoin issuers to operate as consortia where banks hold at least 51% ownership, but the FSC says this would suppress fintech participation and favor a more flexible approach. The two sides also disagree on reserve requirements, enforcement authority, and whether interest-bearing stablecoins should be allowed. 

The Digital Asset Basic Act would require for crypto firms to comply with licensing and disclosure rules, ban insider trading and market manipulation, and create a Digital Asset Committee to oversee policy. Companies will also need at least 50 billion won ($35 million) in capital before being allowed to issue stablecoins.