South Korea Moves to Fold Crypto Into a 76-Year-Old Asset Law

Seoul plans a National Asset Basic Act

South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance said it will create a National Asset Basic Act to modernise how the government manages state property. The ministry announced the plan during a policy briefing at the President's Blue House on 15 July 2026. It framed the law as a full rewrite of a decades-old system. A joint public-private task force will draft the details and set the scope of covered assets.

The 1950 law never covered digital assets

The existing State Property Act dates to 1950, when the government designed it around a real estate-centred economy. State assets have since grown from 188.3 trillion won in 2001 to more than 1,400 trillion won, about $938 billion. Officials call the plan the first major overhaul of state asset management in 76 years. The old framework never covered newer classes such as intellectual property and virtual assets, and the reform would add both to the national asset registry.

Seoul shifts from preserving assets to creating value

The plan moves state property management away from a legacy focus on preservation and sale. Instead, the government aims for a value-creation model that develops and operates public assets by category. The ministry has branded the approach a "K-Asset" framework. It said the shift would turn idle holdings into a source of national wealth rather than costs to maintain. Specialised agencies such as Kamco would take a larger role in developing state assets.

The plan adds tokenised bonds and property

The government plans to securitise state-owned real estate through security token offerings (STOs) and share the returns with the public. It also aims to tokenise government bonds under a pilot scheduled for 2027 and to apply artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain to treasury fund management. A separate blockchain system would pay public money in deposit tokens to block fraudulent claims. From September, retail investors can buy government bonds directly through retirement pension accounts. The ministry will also run a full property survey every year instead of every five years.

Bitcoin traded near $65,000 at publication

South Korea runs one of the world's most active retail cryptocurrency markets, which raises the stakes for how the state treats digital assets. Bitcoin traded at $65,378 at the time of publication, up 2.39% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 15 July 2026). Its market value stood near $1.31 trillion, a benchmark for the digital assets South Korea now plans to fold into its state framework.

Blockchain anchors the late-2026 growth plan

At a State Council meeting on 13 July 2026, the ministry restated its support for the local blockchain and digital asset economy, even as it stressed AI development. It tied the effort to the country's economic growth strategy for the second half of 2026. That strategy includes a central bank digital currency (CBDC) project and a separate Digital Asset Basic Act, a legal framework for the crypto and stablecoin sector.

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