BOK Urges Limiting Stablecoin Issuers on Money Laundering Risks

South Korea’s central bank has reiterated its position that regulators should initially authorize only licensed commercial banks to issue won-denominated stablecoins, citing concerns over money laundering and financial stability risks.

The Bank of Korea’s renewed caution comes as trust in the country’s digital-asset industry has been shaken by an incident this month in which crypto exchange Bithumb erroneously transferred $40 billion worth of ‘ghost’ Bitcoin to clients. That episode has intensified scrutiny of a crypto market that has at times eclipsed equities in retail participation.

“It would be desirable to allow stablecoins primarily within the banking sector first,” the ...