Global cryptocurrency liquidity provider (LP) and market maker (MM) firms — including Flow Traders, Cumberland, and Wintermute — are moving quickly to prepare for entry into the South Korean market ahead of the country’s crypto institutionalization, signaling that Korea’s digital asset market could be poised for a structural shift from a retail-dominated market toward one increasingly shaped by institutional and corporate trading. Driving this push is the planned enactment of Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act (the so-called “phase two” crypto legislation) later this year, alongside the phased opening of a corporate trading market that would allow listed companies and registered professional investor entities to trade digital assets directly.

Uncover incredible deals and embrace a seamless shopping spree on Temu! 😊
👉 item link: https://temu.to/k/pa0wor2ihlo
🎉 Coupon price[$120.95]
Milwaukee 2457-21 3/8-in Cordless M12 Lithium-Ion Ratchet Kit

🚀 Help Me Earn Instantly — Just 1 Click!
Hi! Join Temu’s affiliate program via my link—it’s free. I’ll earn up to $50, and you’ll get free rewards instantly! 🎉
💡 Commission Boost: Your commission auto-upgrades to 35% after signing up!
🔗 https://temu.to/k/p590cevtkpa
inc151317

Looking ahead, the most important thing to watch is the structural gap in Korea’s existing market. As Cho Jae-woo, a professor at Hansung University, points out, while liquidity providers have grown steadily overseas, Korea’s over-the-counter (OTC) trading vendors were never formally legitimized under regulation, which stunted the growth of a domestic LP industry. Ironically, this creates an opening for foreign firms. If large institutional block orders were to flow directly into today’s retail-centric market, they could trigger significant price volatility outside of a handful of highly liquid exchanges — meaning Korea will likely need to adopt the same approach used overseas, where institutional orders are broken up and executed through OTC block trades or time-weighted average price (TWAP) strategies. Firms such as Flow Traders, Cumberland, and Jane Street already operate local entities or offices in Korea, while GSR and Jump Trading reportedly plan to enter through domestic subsidiaries once the regulatory framework becomes clearer — suggesting that foreign entry will likely unfold in stages, timed around the legislation’s passage.

That said, the mode of entry these firms pursue remains an open variable. Some are actively considering registering as professional investor entities to trade directly on domestic exchanges, while others — mindful that trading-business requirements and permitted business scope remain undefined — are keeping the option open to partner with licensed domestic Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) as a fallback route should securing a direct license prove difficult. In other words, how quickly and in what form these global LPs and MMs actually enter the Korean market will hinge heavily on how the detailed enforcement decrees and trading-business regulations under the Digital Asset Basic Act are ultimately finalized. Once the corporate market opens, exchanges will need reliable liquidity partners to support spot and futures ETF markets — and given the current absence of capable domestic LPs, foreign firms appear well-positioned to effectively become Korea’s first-generation market makers.

This article is a summary and analysis based on publicly available news reports. It does not constitute investment advice or financial recommendations. Before making any investment decisions, please verify the latest legislative and market developments and consult a qualified financial advisor.