South Korea's top crypto exchanges have asked the government to postpone a 22% tax on crypto profits again. A new bill would push the start to 2029, but it remains only a proposal.
South Korea is preparing to impose a 22% tax on crypto profits in January 2027, yet top exchanges have requested another postponement. The government is now set to meet exchange executives to discuss the issue.
According to a Yonhap News Agency report: "time is running short for practical preparations on the infrastructure side." The same report says standards for different transaction types have not yet been finalized.
A bill would move the start to 2029
On Friday, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Min-gyu introduced a bill to defer the tax until Jan. 1 of the second year after South Korea begins sharing data under the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). With the first exchange expected in 2027, taxation would begin in 2029.
However, the delay is still a proposal. If the tax takes effect in 2027 as planned, higher compliance costs may dampen trading activity and capital inflows, while further postponements would create uncertainty for the industry.
Why the market matters
South Korea is a major crypto trading center. According to Yonhap, the country's five major exchanges averaged 597.8 billion won ($406.5 million) in daily trading volume in July 2026, and Upbit and Bithumb accounted for over 90% of domestic exchange volume.
A Seoul Economic Daily survey of 30 industry experts found that 93.3% would like to postpone the tax, and 86.7% believe trading volumes on major exchanges will decline if it is implemented as proposed.
Park Sung-jae, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said investments are shifting to overseas exchanges such as Binance. In his view, foreign platforms offer formats like futures and leverage, while spot trading is the only de facto option at home.
The outcome could affect sentiment and capital flows in one of Asia's key crypto markets.
Source: AMBCrypto
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