Lift

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South Korea saw its first institutional digital assets sale following the start of its ban lift on institutional crypto transactions. The positive development came two days before the snap presidential elections, scheduled for June 3, 2025.

First Institutional Crypto Sale In South Korea

On Sunday, South Korean non-profit organization World Vision made the first digital assets sale by an institution in the country. In a statement from Dunamu, Upbit’s parent company, the crypto exchange announced that it had supported the historical first sale of 0.55 Ether (ETH) by a corporation for 1.98 million won, equivalent to $1,437.

Starting June 1, 2025, non-profit organizations, including charities and universities, are permitted to sell crypto holdings through local exchanges as part of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) roadmap for corporate participation in the digital asset market.

In February, the FSC’s Virtual Asset Committee announced it would gradually lift its ban on institutional investment in digital assets by allowing the creation of real-name accounts for institutions, starting with non-profits in Q2 2025.

In South Korea, real-name accounts are required for crypto investments, with only the accounts that have completed this verification under the Specified Financial Transaction Information Act being allowed to invest in digital assets. Nonetheless, the FSC had guided banks not to issue these accounts to corporations, limiting institutional crypto trading despite the absence of legal barriers or official bans.

As Dunamu revealed, World Vision was able to connect its K Bank corporate account to its Upbit account and successfully sold the Ethereum received as donations three months ago through the exchange’s KRW market.

Dunamu and the non-profit conducted a digital assets donation campaign in March, targeting Upbit users to purchase school uniforms, backpacks, and other essential items needed for the new school year for vulnerable teenagers who struggle to afford them.

Upbit’s parent company revealed its plan to continue supporting non-profit organizations to sell their digital assets received as donations while “adhering to guidelines established by financial authorities and the industry to establish a healthy virtual asset donation culture.”

Additionally, it announced it is preparing for the second phase of FSC’s roadmap, where qualified publicly traded companies and professional investors will be allowed to access the digital asset market in Q3 2025.

A New Era For Digital Assets?

This key development for the South Korean crypto industry will be followed by the June 3 snap presidential election to replace impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol, who attempted to declare martial law in December 2024.

Despite the outcome, digital asset investors in the country are expected to benefit, as the two major candidates vowed to implement industry-friendly policies to capture the nearly 18 million people who invest in digital assets in South Korea.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the People Power Party (PPP) candidate, Kim Moon-soo, announced he will allow spot crypto Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) if he wins. Kim vowed to push for approval of digital asset-based investment products and other financial policies to increase the wealth accumulation of the middle class.

Kim’s camp cited the increasing number of digital asset investors in the younger generations as a decisive factor for incorporating spot ETFs and the institutionalization of digital assets into the pledges’ list.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate, Lee Jae-myung, also pledged to introduce spot crypto ETFs and lower digital assets transaction taxes in the country.

Lee promised to “create a safe virtual asset investment environment by establishing an integrated surveillance system” and “expand the cryptocurrency market while simultaneously strengthening investor protection.”

Ethereum’s performance in the one-week chart. Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

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In brief

Bitcoin will hit $250,000 this year, according to BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.
The White House will shift away from tariffs to avoid political fallout, he added.
A tax on foreign capital could drive governments toward Bitcoin and gold, he argued.

Bitcoin’s price will more than double within the next six months, swelling to $250,000, according to Bitcoin billionaire and BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, as U.S. President Donald Trump moves away from the market-rattling impact of tariffs toward other fiscal policies.

“Midterm elections are coming up in the U.S.,” he told Decrypt at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas. “While the Trump administration went hard on tariffs and was taking this market pain for the last three months, that narrative has to shift.”

Instead of pursuing trade policies that could weigh on economic growth and potentially hurt Americans’ ability to afford everyday goods, Hayes—who has made his fair share of bold predictions—argued that the president will have to show he “brought goodies for the population” to help Republicans at the ballot box come 2026.

“They’re going to accelerate the money printing,” Hayes said, referring to the Federal Reserve—an independent government agency that is primarily responsible for managing the U.S. money supply.

Among policies that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has teased as fiscal stimulus, Hayes highlighted potential changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-backed mortgage giants that have been under government oversight since the 2008 financial crisis.

If the government-sponsored enterprises are allowed to go public and raise capital again, that would inject cheap liquidity into the housing market, Hayes said. Allowing them to “lever up their balance sheets” would also make mortgages more affordable, he said. Among knock-on effects, increased housing activity could theoretically spur economic growth and support risk-on assets.

On top of that, discussions surrounding a so-called supplemental leverage ratio, or SLR, exemption for U.S. Treasuries are bullish, Hayes said. In essence, the White House wants to ease leverage ratios for banks when it comes to their exposure to U.S. debt.

“That allows the U.S. banking system to apply infinite leverage to buy treasury bonds is obviously very positive for global capital markets,” he added.

Finally, Hayes sees the government shifting from tariffs to capital controls to support American manufacturing in a more politically palatable way. Instead of taxing imports, the U.S. could tax foreign government holdings of bonds, equities, and land that stem from trade long-running trade imbalances.

How that could drive governments toward gold and Bitcoin is a central theme of his latest essay, which also predicts that Bitcoin will hit $1 million before 2028. Earlier this month, Hayes predicted that Bitcoin would hit $150,000 this year, as opposed to $250,000.

Billionaire investor Tim Draper made a similar call this month, highlighting regulatory tailwinds for the asset under the Trump administration. Bitcoin’s path to $250,000 this year will also be bolstered by myriad firms adopting Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, he said.

With Congress weighing legislative initiatives that could potentially establish rules for stablecoins and create a regulatory taxonomy for many coins, Hayes also told Decrypt that Ethereum will make its own comeback this year, rising as high as $5,000.

Edited by James Rubin

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1st Institutional Crypto Sale In South Korea After Ban Lift

First Institutional Crypto Sale In South Korea

A New Era For Digital Assets?

‘Money Printing’ Will Lift Bitcoin to $250K This Year: Arthur Hayes

In brief

Daily Debrief Newsletter