South Korea Weighs Raising Crypto Exchange Cold-Wallet Floor to 99%

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is weighing a requirement for crypto exchanges to hold about 99% of assets in cold wallets, a move that could slow withdrawals.

The current minimum is 80%. Upbit already keeps more than 99% of its assets in cold wallets; the shares are about 94% at Bithumb and 85% at Coinone. Some small and midsize exchanges are only slightly above the existing floor.

A higher threshold could leave exchanges with less hot-wallet liquidity for immediate withdrawals and increase operating pressure on smaller platforms. Bithumb had delays of about 13 hours for withdrawals of some altcoins in August 2026 after its hot-wallet assets ran short.

The FSC recently reviewed the 80% cold-wallet requirement and ways to raise the share held offline. The proposed increase to about 99% remains under consideration.