Bitcoin has risen above $80,000 for the first time in three months, helped by a weaker dollar, expectations of clearer U.S. digital asset regulation and inflows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In South Korea, discussions on a basic digital asset law have restarted, drawing attention to whether this will lead to institutional changes such as corporate investment and spot ETFs.

CoinMarketCap, a digital asset market data platform, showed bitcoin trading at around $78,900 as of the morning on Aug. 27, or about 109 million won. On Aug. 25, it rose as high as $81,237 intraday, the highest level in about three months since mid-May. As of Aug. 25, it was up about 28 percent this month.

A key driver of the recent rise has been dollar weakness. After the U.S. Treasury set out a plan to curb rises in long-term interest rates by expanding purchases of long-term government bonds, the dollar weakened and demand increased for alternative assets such as bitcoin and gold.

Inflows through spot ETFs also continued. The industry said U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows for seven straight trading sessions from Aug. 17 to Aug. 25. Total net inflows over that period were tallied at $2.57 billion, or about 3.54 trillion won.

In the U.S. Congress, discussions continue on the CLARITY Act, which sets out how to distinguish between securities and commodities for digital assets and how to allocate supervisory authority between the SEC and CFTC. The bill passed the House of Representatives in July 2025, but follow-up procedures remain, including a full Senate vote. Differences between the ruling and opposition parties have also not been resolved over provisions on investor protection, anti-money laundering and preventing conflicts of interest for politicians.

The GENIUS Act, which sets out a regulatory framework for payment and settlement stablecoins, was enacted in July 2025. The U.S. Treasury on Aug. 17 released a draft rule detailing requirements for issuing and selling stablecoins in the United States. The GENIUS Act is set to take effect on Jan. 18, 2027, if final rules are not 마련 first.

In South Korea, discussions on institutionalising digital assets are also resuming. Min Byeong-deok (민병덕), a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, on Aug. 26 urged the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee to move quickly on a public hearing and legislative procedures for the basic digital asset law. You Dong-soo (유동수), chair of the committee, also called for consultations between the ruling and opposition floor leaders on the committee.

The National Assembly and the digital asset industry said there is talk of the Financial Services Commission presenting a review draft of the basic digital asset law as early as early next month, with You considering introducing a lawmaker-sponsored bill reflecting it.

The proposed bill is expected to undergo a combined review in the Political Affairs Committee’s bill review subcommittee along with existing lawmaker-sponsored bills. Even so, it remains unclear whether it will pass within the year.

A key issue is regulation of major shareholders of digital asset exchanges. The commission said it discussed the need for standards to diversify exchange ownership at its Virtual Asset Committee in March, but did not disclose a specific cap on equity stakes.

In the National Assembly and the industry, it is known that a plan was reviewed to limit major shareholders’ stakes to 20 percent in principle, while allowing up to 34 percent for some exceptions such as new operators.

A compromise option is also being discussed that would give existing operators a three-year grace period and, instead of requiring them to dispose of shares, cap the voting rights they can exercise at 20 percent.

A change of the commission official in charge is also a variable. The Financial Services Commission on the day officially announced personnel changes, appointing Seo Na-yoon (서나윤), head of the Financial Data Policy Division, as the new head of the Virtual Asset Division and moving Kim Seong-jin (김성진), head of the Virtual Asset Division, to lead the Asset Management Division.

Kim has led work to review the basic digital asset law since the launch of the Virtual Asset Division in July 2024. With the government’s review draft set to be made public and consultations with the National Assembly ahead, maintaining continuity of work is cited as a task.

Financial authorities are preparing guidelines to pilot-allow digital asset trading by listed companies and corporations registered as professional investors, but the announcement has been delayed for more than a year.

At the end of last month, there were 6,590 corporate accounts registered at the five major won-based exchanges, but only 29 accounts saw actual trading, deposits or withdrawals. While general corporations can join exchanges and trade on coin markets, won-based digital asset trading through real-name accounts is effectively restricted.

Spot digital asset ETFs were included in the government’s key policy tasks, but their introduction requires revisions to the scope of underlying assets for ETFs under the Capital Markets Act. A policy to pursue the introduction of spot ETFs has been confirmed, but the listing schedule, product structure and custody method have not yet been decided.

An industry official said, "For the U.S.-led rally to lead to institutional change in South Korea, not only the introduction of the basic law but also corporate investment guidelines, revisions to the Capital Markets Act related to spot ETFs and standards for issuing and distributing stablecoins must be 마련 together." The official added, "Since the specific contents of the basic law and its timing are not yet confirmed, it is too early to conclude that the U.S.-led tailwind will directly translate into deregulation in South Korea."