South Korea’s Nationwide Tax Service (NTS) is transferring to pick out a non-public custody supplier for seized crypto belongings after a February press launch uncovered a pockets restoration phrase and triggered the unauthorized switch of confiscated tokens.
On Feb. 26, the NTS by chance uncovered a crypto pockets seed phrase in an official press launch, ensuing within the unauthorized switch of crypto tokens valued at about $4.8 million. The discharge included a picture of a Ledger chilly pockets and a sheet of paper displaying the mnemonic phrase with out being blurred.
Citing folks aware of the matter, ZDNet Korea reported that the company is reviewing a plan to outsource custody of confiscated crypto and is drafting choice standards for suppliers. The NTS is reportedly aiming to pick out a supplier inside the first half of 2026.
The company plans to judge candidates based mostly on a number of elements, together with safety necessities, firm dimension, and whether or not the agency holds insurance coverage beneath South Korea’s Digital Asset Person Safety Act, ZDNet Korea reported.
The transfer exhibits South Korean authorities are attempting to formalize custody of seized crypto after a sequence of dealing with failures uncovered weaknesses in how confiscated digital belongings are saved and managed.
New process power to supervise custody supplier choice course of
The custody choice will reportedly be led by a newly-formed process power centered on advancing digital asset administration methods.
The duty power is reportedly engaged on a number of initiatives, together with enhancing operational manuals protecting the total life cycle of seized belongings, from seizure to storage and liquidation. It might additionally conduct assessments and personnel coaching.
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The group can also be getting ready to ascertain a devoted division to supervise crypto-related work.
An NTS official stated that since crypto is comparatively new, obligations are cut up throughout departments. Nevertheless, preparations are underway to create a centralized unit, ZDNet Korea reported.
NTS pockets seed leak prompts inter-agency probe
The NTS’s pockets leak and a separate custody failure by which Seoul’s Gangnam police allegedly misplaced 22 BTC seized prompted authorities to conduct an inter-agency assessment of seized crypto belongings.
On March 1, South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic system and Finance, Koo Yun-cheol, introduced a cross-agency probe on how the federal government handles seized digital belongings.
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