Why South Korea May Miss Out as U.S. Turns to Bitcoin Reserves

• South Korea risks falling behind as the U.S. stockpiles Bitcoin for strategic financial positioning.
• Government agencies remain split while millions of older Koreans embrace crypto with growing portfolios.

Who would have thought that a country as active as South Korea in the world of technology would actually start to be left behind in the adoption of digital assets such as Bitcoin. Former Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, Ahn Do-geol, issued a rather harsh warning recently.

He said that the United States had moved faster, even starting to hoard Bitcoin as part of their financial strategy. Meanwhile, South Korea still seems hesitant, even divided in opinion within the government about the next steps.

JUST IN: FORMER FINANCE MINISTER WARNS KOREA IS FALLING BEHIND AS U.S. STOCKPILES BITCOIN, URGES GOVERNMENT TO ADOPT $BTC.

Source: The Bitcoin Historian pic.twitter.com/hjCLkDV4Ka

— Mario Nawfal’s Roundtable (@RoundtableSpace) March 25, 2025

Why South Korea Shouldn’t Just Watch While Others Hoard Bitcoin

According to Ahn Do-geol, Korea should not just be a spectator in this global trend. He urged the government to start considering Bitcoin as an alternative foreign exchange reserve. This concept may sound bold, but if you look at the steps of the US, which has begun to form a kind of “strategic Bitcoin reserve,” then it makes sense that Ahn feels that his country needs to do the same.

Just imagine if one day the traditional exchange rate is shaken or inflation eats away at the value of fiat currency, Bitcoin could be a kind of digital “emergency savings.” It may sound like the premise of a dystopian film, but in fact, other countries are already starting to move in that direction.

Divided Opinions: Korea Can’t Seem to Agree on Bitcoin

Unfortunately, this idea has not received a warm welcome from all parties. The Bank of Korea (BOK), for example, still holds conservative principles. They are worried about Bitcoin’s price volatility, which can cause headaches. They also think that Bitcoin is not suitable as a reserve because it does not comply with the standards adopted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

However, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) seems more open. They said that drafting a regulatory framework for crypto is something that needs to be done immediately. So even though they have not agreed on Bitcoin as a reserve, at least there is an awareness that crypto can no longer be treated as just a momentary trend.

FIU Cracks Down While Ahn Pushes Forward

While Ahn called for a new policy, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) actually moved in the opposite direction. Instead of adding space for crypto, they actually started sanctioning foreign exchanges that are not officially registered in Korea.

According to the CNF report, this sanction is not only a formal warning, but can be in the form of a ban on access to the exchange’s website from within the country. Some of the big names that were sanctioned include BitMEX, KuCoin, CoinW, Bitunix, and KCEX.

This move seems to indicate that the South Korean government is pulling the emergency brake, at a time when some parties, like Ahn, want to press the gas even deeper.

While Leaders Debate, 9.6M Koreans Dive Into Crypto

Despite regulatory tensions and policy changes, Korean citizens are actually becoming more active. There are currently more than 9.6 million crypto investors in South Korea. This figure has increased by more than 50% compared to the previous year.

Even more surprisingly, one in four investors is from the age group of 50 years and above. They are not just trying to buy small change, but many of them hold large portfolios.

Just imagine a 55-year-old uncle, usually busy playing golf or working on bonsai, is now busy monitoring charts on his cellphone, following FOMO for new projects on the blockchain. The world is indeed changing rapidly.