South Korea will approve only two virtual asset businesses in 2025, half the number from the previous year.

[South Korea to Approve Only 2 Virtual Asset Businesses in 2025, Half the Number from Last Year] According to Mars Finance, only two virtual asset businesses in South Korea will be approved by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in 2025, half the number of those approved in 2024. The approval time has increased from an average of 11 months to 16 months, with some cases exceeding 600 days. The FIU has adopted a conservative approval strategy due to the delay in the passage of the virtual asset bill. However, on December 23 last year, the FIU approved the license renewal of Dunamu, the operator of the largest exchange Upbit, after the original renewal period had expired approximately 1 year and 4 months prior. The FIU had previously fined Dunamu 35.2 billion won, and the renewal was granted after the sanctions process was completed. Currently, exchanges such as Korbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Gopax have all submitted renewal applications. Industry insiders expect that as major exchanges complete their renewals, industry uncertainty will gradually decrease.