Bank of Korea: Investigating the Situation of Financial Institutions Entering the Virtual Asset Market

According to a report by the Korean News Agency, the Bank of Korea (central bank) has begun monitoring the market, requesting banks and securities companies to provide updates on their virtual asset-related businesses and assessments of related risks. On the 23rd of last month, the Bank of Korea sent relevant requests to 18 banks (including the five major banks: KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup) and 13 securities companies, asking them to participate in the "Survey on the Current Status of Financial Institutions Entering the Virtual Asset Market."

The survey covers the organizational structure and budget of each institution regarding virtual assets, the current status of market access, assessments of business-related risks, and risk management measures. The survey also addresses the potential impact on financial institutions if a major event occurs at the largest virtual asset exchange in the domestic market (such as a large-scale hacking attack leading to temporary operational disruption). Additionally, the survey focuses on other risk scenarios, such as significant price declines of virtual assets like Bitcoin, continuous shrinkage of trading volume, or other financial institutions suffering substantial losses due to virtual asset-related events.