South Korea may cancel the "one exchange, one bank" rule for cryptocurrency trading platforms, as regulators assess the impact on market competition

According to Cointelegraph, South Korean financial regulators are assessing whether to end the long-standing practice of "one exchange, one bank" for cryptocurrency exchanges.

The review is being coordinated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Fair Trade Commission, aiming to evaluate whether the current mechanism exacerbates market concentration. The report notes that "one exchange, one bank" is not enshrined in law but has gradually formed under anti-money laundering (AML) and customer due diligence requirements.

Related research suggests that this model may limit access to banking services for small and medium-sized exchanges, thereby consolidating the advantages of leading platforms. This discussion is also related to South Korea's advancement of the second phase of legislation for the "Basic Law on Digital Assets." The bill plans to allow the issuance of Korean won stablecoins, but there are still disagreements regarding the regulatory framework and approval mechanisms, with the submission date postponed to 2026.