South Korea's Police Agency Establishes First-Ever Guidelines for Dark Coin Management, Reducing Virtual Asset Market Value by Approximately 54.5 Billion Won Over Nearly 5 Years

CycleProphet · 2026-03-17T03:26:09+00:00

The Korea National Police Agency has completed a draft mandate for virtual asset management, providing the first clear guidelines for dark coin management and developing a software wallet management plan. Over the past five years, the police have seized virtual assets estimated at approximately 54.5 billion won, and plan to designate a private custodian institution. However, multiple bidding processes have failed, and experts recommend establishing a government-led custody system.

CycleProphet

2026-03-17 03:26:09

Abstract generation in progress

Deep Tide TechFlow News, March 17 — According to Asian Economic Reports, the Korean National Police Agency has recently completed a draft regulation on virtual asset custody, marking the first time that management guidelines for “Dark Coins” (highly anonymous virtual currencies) have been incorporated into official regulations. The draft clarifies management plans for software wallets (hot wallets). Dark Coins, due to their difficulty in tracing transactions, have been used in crimes such as the “Nth Room” case and North Korean money laundering activities. It is reported that the virtual assets compressed by Korean police over the past five years are estimated to be worth approximately 54.5 billion won at the current market price, including about 50.7 billion won in Bitcoin and about 1.8 billion won in Ethereum.

Additionally, the Police Agency plans to complete the selection of private custody institutions within the first half of the year. However, three previous tenders failed due to issues such as a budget of only 8.3 million won and the small scale of qualified institutions. Experts recommend establishing a government-led, unified professional custody system to prevent security vulnerabilities and internal risks.

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