BitGo Korea, in which Hana Financial Group has invested approximately 25%, has completed its virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under South Korea’s Financial Services Commission and formally launched domestic operations. Sh Suhyup Bank has acquired a stake in custody firm Infinibloc, while existing shareholder iM Bank made an additional capital contribution, giving both banks approximately 15% ownership and making them joint second-largest shareholders. Most major South Korean banks have established equity relationships with custody providers, but restrictions under the Banking Act and Capital Markets Act make direct operation difficult. Banks are taking minority stakes of 15% or less as they prepare for potential growth in institutional crypto participation, spot bitcoin ETFs, won-denominated stablecoins and related services such as staking, OTC trading, collateralized lending, tokenized assets, payments and remittances. Global firms including BNY Mellon, Citi, Fidelity, Circle and Ripple are pursuing custody or regulated digital-asset businesses through different structures.