South Korea Eyes Crypto Market Maker Licenses After JPYC Price Spike

Key Facts

1South Korea's Financial Services Commission is studying a formal market-maker regime for the next digital asset law.

2The move follows a yen-linked token (JPYC) on Upbit briefly trading at four times its intended value.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission is studying a formal market-maker regime for inclusion in the upcoming digital asset law, Crowdfund Insider reported. The regulatory move follows a significant price anomaly where the yen-linked token JPYC briefly traded at four times its intended value on the Upbit exchange. The spike occurred after won-pair trading opened on September 17, 2026, highlighting structural liquidity gaps in the local market.

Yoo Young-joon, the commission's director of digital finance policy, stated that the review will determine if market-making tools should be introduced to increase efficiency and stability. Under current protections, continuous two-sided quoting can be treated as unlawful price influence, leading to thinner order books and wider premiums. Regulators are now addressing these market-structure issues to prevent similar distortions in fiat-linked tokens and new listings.