According to reports from Yonhap News Agency, BitGo Korea has secured virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration from South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit on August 18. The company became the first local entity owned by an overseas crypto company to complete the registration process directly, establishing itself as a regulated crypto custody and transfer service provider in the Korean market. As reported by BitGo, this makes BitGo Korea the first newly established Korean entity of a global digital asset company to receive VASP registration acceptance for entry into the South Korean market since the country introduced its VASP registration regime under the Act of Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. Chen Fang, BitGo Korea CEO and BitGo Chief Revenue Officer, stated that the approach reflects a "long-term commitment" to Korea's regulatory framework, while Abel Seow, Managing Director and Head of APAC Sales at BitGo, noted there is growing interest in security alongside local regulatory alignment.
As reported by Yonhap News Agency, BitGo Korea established itself in 2024 and operates with strategic backing from major Korean financial institutions. Hana Financial Group holds a 25% stake, while SK Telecom owns a 10% share and serves as a strategic partner. The company plans to focus on institutional custody and transfer services for financial institutions and corporate customers, though specific launch timelines and operational details remain undisclosed. According to BitGo, the partnership brings together BitGo's global digital asset infrastructure with the financial and technology expertise of two leading Korean institutions, positioning the company to serve institutional and enterprise clients including financial institutions, asset managers, corporates, public-sector organizations, and other qualified market participants. Rather than entering the market through acquisition of an existing VASP, Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom are strategic shareholders in BitGo Korea, bringing together institutional-grade security with local support and regulatory alignment.
According to the Financial Services Commission, stricter VASP registration checks took effect on August 20, expanding regulatory reviews to include chief executives and controlling shareholders. Under the updated framework, applicants must maintain a debt ratio of no more than 200% and cannot have defaulted during the previous three years. The new rules also require suitable staff, cybersecurity systems, and internal controls covering anti-money-laundering duties and customer protection. As part of the registration process, BitGo Korea established local security, anti-money laundering, internal control, and operational frameworks designed to meet applicable Korean regulatory requirements. Meanwhile, South Korea has tightened controls on offshore crypto transfers, with domestic VASP transfers now requiring sender and recipient information regardless of transaction size. Offshore exchanges and self-hosted wallets face further verification requirements for user identities, with most transfers requiring same-person ownership, and transfers worth 10 million won or more trigger mandatory internal monitoring when sent to these destinations.
As reported by BitGo, the company maintains regulated entities across major financial markets globally, including BitGo Bank & Trust, a national banking association chartered and regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; BitGo New York Trust Company, regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services; BitGo Singapore Pte. Ltd., licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore; BitGo Europe GmbH, licensed under MiCAR by Germany's BaFin; and BitGo entities in Dubai licensed by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. The company serves thousands of institutions, including many of the industry's top brands, financial institutions, exchanges, and platforms, and millions of investors worldwide. BitGo is the digital asset infrastructure company delivering custody, wallets, staking, trading, financing, stablecoins, and settlement services from regulated cold storage since 2013. BitGo maintains a global presence and multiple regulated entities, including BitGo Bank & Trust, National Association, the first federally chartered digital asset trust bank owned by a publicly traded company.
As reported by Yonhap News Agency, BitGo Korea follows the company's regulated approach in other markets, including authorization from Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority and operations in Singapore, Dubai, Denmark, and Switzerland. The Korean approval allows the company to build institutional-focused crypto services, though it does not extend protections from BitGo's US-regulated entity. According to BitGo, the company chose to establish BitGo Korea locally and complete the VASP registration process directly because it believes serving Korean institutions requires a long-term commitment to the market and its regulatory framework. The company's Korean partners, Hana Financial and SK Telecom, are expected to contribute their respective expertise in financial services and technology infrastructure, with BitGo Korea registered to provide virtual asset custody and transfer services to institutional and enterprise clients in South Korea. The approval expands institutional custody competition while showing foreign crypto firms can enter South Korea directly by meeting domestic requirements, creating a clearer divide between domestic and offshore crypto access as registered firms like BitGo Korea operate within the local framework while unregistered counterparties face greater scrutiny.
