South Korea Throws Crypto Lending Under the Bus: New Rules Incoming 🚀

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  • Crypto lending regulations are on the way in South Korea as leveraged loans increase. Because nothing says “fun” like financial chaos.
  • Task force to come up with investor protection and leverage limits. Basically, a bunch of folks who think they’re smarter than you are trying to keep the lights on.
  • Exchanges were called upon to re-evaluate risky lending services on the spot. Whether they like it or not. Spoiler: they don’t.

Apparently, South Korea’s financial regulators woke up one morning and decided that crypto lenders making it rain with borrowed coins in a manner reminiscent of a guy at a Vegas blackjack table needed some serious addressing.

By the end of next month, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will fashion regulations tighter than a pair of skinny jeans on a sumo wrestler. The goal? To curb the wild west of crypto lending, which, let’s face it, has all the stability of a Jenga tower in an earthquake.

Big players like Upbit and Bithumb sparked this fire drill, mainly because they’ve been handing out loans that make Willy Wonka look conservative—loans four times the collateral value. Because who doesn’t love a little financial hyperventilation?

What’s Behind All This Fuss?

With Bithumb’s new feature, users can snatch up to four times their coin’s worth with just some Korean won or other crypto collateral. Sounds like a math problem designed to bankrupt your brain, but banks are involved too.

So deposit some won or crypto assets, and then borrow up to 80% of Bitcoin, Tether, or Ripple. Because, obviously, financial plans involving magnifying your losses sound solid as a rock.

This hyper-leverage frenzy set off warning bells louder than a fire alarm at a fireworks factory. The regulators worry that if prices swing even slightly, users might find themselves in a financial Charybdis—minus the sailing experience.

Team Regulator Forms a Squad to Tackle the Wild West

FSC and FSS put together a task force—think of them as the nerdy teachers trying to keep the unruly kids from setting the gym on fire. They’re working with exchanges and some fancy Digital Asset Exchange Joint Council. The plan? Establish rules to keep everyone honest, rich, and happy (well, mostly).

They’re probably going to debate whether borrowing should be allowed at all, who can even participate, what assets qualify, and how loudly they should shout warnings about risk. Basically, turning crypto into a well-behaved puppy—if only that puppy was made of volatile digital assets.

All these rules will be based on the coolest regulated countries out there—because nothing says “trust” like borrowing regulations from someone else’s safety net. Expect the new guidelines to drop next month, because in Korea, they like their rules like their kimchi—fermented and unorthodox.

Think more regulation, less chaos. South Korea is gearing up to make crypto loans safer, or at least less likely to send your portfolio spinning into the abyss. Safety first, after all, unless you enjoy the thrill of digital roulette.

The focus on leverage limits is basically the government’s version of saying, “Maybe don’t gamble the house on a shaky meme coin.” Investors and exchanges will soon need to embrace this brave new world of “regulated” crypto lending—because apparently, the Wild West wasn’t wild enough.

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2025-08-01 06:02