South Korea opens up to crypto with first institutional crypto sale

South Korean international relief and development non-governmental organization World Vision sold its crypto holdings as the country started easing its de facto ban on institutional crypto trading. The sale marks South Korea’s first institutional crypto transaction since the ban was imposed.

According to Dunamu, World Vision’s parent company, the platform sold 0.55 ETH on Sunday, roughly worth about $1,396.5 and 1.98 million in Korean won.

World Vision sold its Cheer-up campaign donations on Upbit 

In February, in collaboration with other related organizations, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) disclosed the “Roadmap for Corporate Participation in the Virtual Asset Market.”

Per the document, eligible local non-profits and licensed crypto exchanges will be permitted to sell their digital assets on local exchanges starting June 1. Non-profits may sell crypto they received through donations, and exchanges can liquidate user fees paid in crypto.

However, non-profit organizations must have at least five years of audited financial records to be qualified to sell crypto donations. They also need internal Donation Review Committees to evaluate each donation and the liquidation strategy.

On Sunday, World Vision sold its Ethereum donations on Upbit’s KRW market after connecting its K-Bank corporate account to the crypto exchange. The donations it cashed out emanated from the ‘Cheer Up! Campaign’ in March. 

Dunamu and World Vision organized a crypto sponsorship campaign to aid underprivileged youth in buying school uniforms, school bags, and other items needed for the new school year.

Moving forward, Dunamu intends to foster a healthy culture of virtual asset donations by adhering to financial and industry guidelines and helping non-profit organizations seamlessly convert donated crypto assets. The company is still discussing with the Community Chest of Korea and Love Fruit how to reinvigorate the culture of virtual asset sharing. 

Meanwhile, the Financial Services Commission is preparing to issue real-name accounts for listed corporations within the second half of 2025. 

South Korean presidential candidates campaign on crypto-friendly policies 

Crypto analysts and investors are closely monitoring their country’s politics, with the presidential election coming up on Tuesday. Candidates liberal Lee Jae-myung and conservative People Power Party nominee Kim Moon-soo both support pro-crypto policies in their campaigns.

They have promised to create a more favorable regulatory environment for the digital asset industry and expand access to cryptocurrencies.

Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO of Hashed Ventures, believes the country’s crypto investors will benefit regardless of which candidate wins the election, seeing that both support crypto-friendly policies. 

For starters, Lee proposed instituting spot crypto exchange-traded funds and allowing the nation’s $884 billion pension fund to invest in crypto. Kim’s opponent shares a similar stance on allowing spot crypto ETFs.

South Korea is home to about 18 million crypto investors. Last year, South Korean investors’ digital asset holdings amounted to nearly $75 billion, about 104 trillion won. 

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