BitGo is the first global crypto company through South Korea’s virtual asset service provider registration. Not by buying a local firm. By building one.
The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, which sits under the Financial Services Commission, accepted BitGo Korea’s registration, the Korea Herald reported. The approval covers digital asset custody and transfer services for institutional and corporate clients.
The distinction matters. Binance and OKX entered Korea through investments in or acquisitions of companies that already held VASP registrations, the Korea Times reported. BitGo took the longer road. It set up its Korean venture in 2024, then lined up Hana Financial Group at a 25% stake and SK Telecom at 10%.
The platform numbers are not small: about $63 billion in assets and $11.8 billion staked as of the first quarter of 2026, according to the Korea Times. Both figures move with cryptocurrency prices.
“We chose to establish BitGo Korea locally and complete the VASP registration process directly because we believe serving Korean institutions requires a long-term commitment to the market and its regulatory framework,” said Chen Fang, CEO of BitGo Korea and chief revenue officer at BitGo, in a statement.
What that build-out entailed: security systems, anti-money-laundering controls, internal controls, and operational infrastructure designed to meet local requirements. The target client list runs from financial institutions and asset managers to corporations, public sector organizations, and other qualified market participants.
Mike Belshe, CEO and co-founder of BitGo, called digital assets “part of the global financial infrastructure” and described the registration as “an important milestone in our strategy to build regulated digital asset infrastructure in key markets.” Fang said the approval would “serve as a model for establishing the standards of regulatory compliance and accountability for foreign companies entering the Korean market.”
