South Korea‘s Economy Ministry is planning to include digital assets in a new state asset management framework; meanwhile, Japan‘s parliament is reshaping its digital currency market, aiming for stricter trading rules and a more robust user protection.
South Korea modernizes national assets management, adds digital currency and IP
South Korea is adopting the National Asset Basic Act to amend the country’s state asset management system, replacing the outdated State Property Act of 1950.
The country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) is planning to broaden and modernize the management of national assets to include digital assets and intellectual property (IP), the MOEF announced on July 15 during a briefing at the Blue House—the executive office and residence of South Korea’s president.
Among the updates outlined is the MOEF’s plan to tokenize government bonds on a blockchain as part of a 2027 pilot program. The program aims to reduce transaction costs. The ministry also intends to explore the tokenization of real-world estate to broaden retail investor participation and allow parts of the revenue to be shared with the public.
The move seeks to shift the management of state-owned property from a legacy, real estate-focused framework to a new model that prioritizes value creation.
The MOEF first announced bthe pilot project to utilize tokenized deposits for government operational spending on April 16, with a full rollout expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Meanwhile, the changes to South Korea’s Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act, which establish the nation’s first framework for tokenized securities, are set to take full effect in February 2027.
In other news, on July 14, South Korea unveiled its Economic Growth Strategy for the Second Half of 2026. The strategy includes plans to conduct a 2027 pilot linking tokenized government bonds to the country’s institutional central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The government said that authorities will study how to link the Bank of Korea’s (BoK) CBDC infrastructure with other blockchains, enabling the connection of external distributed ledgers to a bank’s permissioned system.
Japan introduces digital currency trading rules and tougher penalties
Elsewhere, Japan’s parliament has passed revisions to classify digital assets as financial assets under the country’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), Nikkei reported on July 15.
Under the revised framework, digital currency businesses operating in Japan must meet additional compliance requirements to improve market integrity and protect their customers. Issuers, exchanges, and other market participants aren’t allowed to trade while aware of undisclosed material information, aligning insider trading restrictions with those in traditional finance (TradFi).
The updated framework imposes stricter penalties for businesses that seek to operate without registration; the penalties were extended to include a maximum prison sentence from three years to ten years. Additionally, fines have been raised from approximately JPY 3 million Japanese ($19,000) to nearly JPY 10 million ($61,583).
For violations related to insider trading, penalties may include imprisonment for up to 5 years, fines of up to JPY 5 million ($30,791), or a combination of both, according to the report.
In addition, the revised law will also change the terminology of registered businesses from “cryptocurrency exchange” to “cryptocurrency trading company.”
Japan’s update in digital currency regulation moves away from the Payment Services Act (PSA), which primarily categorized digital assets as payment instruments. The new framework introduces rules against insider trading and improves oversight for digital currency businesses.
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