The South Korean government has removed virtual asset trading and intermediary services from the restricted industries for risky businesses.

[The South Korean government will remove virtual asset trading and intermediary businesses from the restricted industries for risky enterprises] Virtual asset trading and intermediary businesses will be removed from the restricted industries for risky enterprises. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups of South Korea (referred to as "SME Startup Ministry") announced on the 9th that during the State Council meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office, a partial amendment to the "Special Act on Fostering Risk Enterprises" containing the above content was reviewed and approved. The amendment will officially take effect from the 16th. The Small and Medium Startup Department explained that the implementation of this revision order is aimed at laying the foundation for formally nurturing the core deep technology industry in the digital asset ecosystem, such as blockchain and encryption technology, considering factors such as the changing global status of the virtual asset industry and the strengthening of the domestic user protection system in South Korea. The Small and Medium-Sized Startups Department also pointed out that globally, the United States approved the listing of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January last year, and implemented comprehensive regulation laws for stablecoins in July of the same year, indicating that a trend of recognizing virtual assets as a formal industry is forming.