South Korea sees first institution sell crypto holdings since ban lift

South Korea saw its first non-retail investor sell its crypto holdings as the country effectively begins to phase out its de facto ban on institutional crypto trading.

On Sunday, humanitarian aid organization World Vision Korea sold 0.55 ETH ($1396.5) on South Korea's Upbit exchange. This transaction was announced by Dunamu, the parent company of the trading platform.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) previously announced that qualified non-profit organizations and registered crypto exchanges would be allowed to sell their crypto holdings on local exchanges starting June 1.

Non-profits in the country may now sell crypto they received through donations, while exchanges can liquidate user fees paid in crypto.

In a controlled rollout, the FSC plans to announce further measures to allow publicly listed companies and entities registered as professional investors to trade crypto within the second half of 2025.

Meanwhile, South Korean investors look to its presidential election on Tuesday, where all three leading candidates have pledged to grow the local digital asset sector, including promises to approve the country's first spot crypto exchange-traded funds.