CryptoSlate
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission asked domestic crypto exchanges to increase cold-wallet holdings and strengthen safeguards after the Binance hack dated Oct. 30. At an emergency meeting on Nov. 2, the FSC called for continuous monitoring of deposits and withdrawals, additional incident-response staff, prompt sharing of abnormal-access reports and added reserves.
Why it matters
The requests cover more than where customer assets are stored. The meeting also examined computer-system access, approval and signing arrangements for wallet withdrawals, and administrator privileges, extending the review to the systems and permissions used to move funds.
The FSC’s July 2024 rules set an 80% cold-wallet share for customer assets, using a defined economic-value calculation. Those rules also established insurance, mutual-aid coverage or reserve standards for liabilities tied to incidents such as hacks and computer failures. The November requests do not specify a new custody percentage or reserve amount.
Market impact
The measures signal closer scrutiny of custody and incident response across South Korea’s crypto exchanges. The FSC’s Nov. 3 clarification said it had requested the safeguards at the Nov. 2 meeting, but neither release provides exchange-by-exchange implementation results.
The FSC also began on-site inspections on Oct. 28 after Bithumb reported signs of an employee-information leak. That action preceded the November meeting, which addressed safeguards following the Binance hack.
Frequently asked questions
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What safeguards did South Korea’s FSC request from crypto exchanges?
The FSC asked exchanges to increase cold-wallet holdings, monitor deposits and withdrawals continuously, add response staff, share abnormal-access reports promptly and build additional reserves.
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Did South Korea announce a new cold-wallet percentage in November?
No. The November releases specify neither a new custody percentage nor an additional reserve amount.
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What cold-wallet standard was already in place?
South Korea’s July 2024 rules set an 80% cold-wallet share for customer assets, calculated using a defined economic-value method.
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What security controls beyond cold storage did the FSC review?
The meeting examined computer-system access, approval and signing arrangements for wallet withdrawals, and administrator privileges.
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Have exchanges confirmed implementation of the requested measures?
The November releases do not report exchange-by-exchange implementation results, so completion is unconfirmed.
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