South Korea Tax Agency Targets Cold Wallets in Crypto Seizures

South Korea’s Nationwide Tax Service (NTS) is increasing its crackdown on tax evasion, warning that even crypto property saved in chilly wallets can be topic to seizure.

In line with a report from native information outlet Hankook Ilbo, an NTS official said the company is ready to conduct house searches and confiscate onerous drives and chilly pockets units if it suspects that tax delinquents are hiding their crypto property offline. 

“We analyze tax delinquents’ coin transaction historical past by crypto-tracking packages, and if there may be suspicion of offline concealment, we’ll conduct house searches and seizures,” the NTS spokesperson reportedly mentioned. 

Underneath the nation’s Nationwide Tax Assortment Act, the NTS can request account info from native exchanges, freeze accounts from tax delinquents and liquidate their property at market worth to cowl their unpaid taxes. 

NTS seized and liquidated over $100 million in crypto in 4 years

A cold wallet is a crypto storage technique that continues to be disconnected from the web. This setup makes it harder for hackers to remotely entry the funds. Whereas it helps safe crypto property, the NTS mentioned that it may also be used to hide property, making tax assortment more difficult.

The assertion marks a brand new section within the company’s enforcement technique as cryptocurrency continues to realize mainstream adoption within the nation. 

Hankook Ilbo reported that the variety of crypto traders within the nation soared to almost 11 million as of June, up nearly 800% from 1.2 million in 2020.

The outlet mentioned that buying and selling volumes within the nation climbed from 1 trillion received ($730 million) to $4.7 billion in the identical interval. 

The surge in crypto adoption additionally led to a rise in crypto-related tax evasion circumstances. The company started concentrating on tax evaders’ crypto property in 2021, confiscating about $50 million from 5,700 suspects. 

Since then, the NTS has accelerated its efforts and elevated oversight of crypto use for tax evasion. The report acknowledged that over the past 4 years, the NTS seized and liquidated $108 million in cryptocurrency from greater than 14,000 people. 

Associated: Korean retail capital driving Ether price, treasury demand: Samson Mow

Suspicious crypto transactions surge in 2025 

The NTS eyeing chilly wallets comes amid a surge in suspicious crypto transactions in 2025.

On Sept. 22, knowledge from the nation’s Monetary Intelligence Unit (FIU) confirmed that digital asset service suppliers (VASPs) within the nation filed almost 37,000 suspicious transaction reviews (STRs) as of August 2025. 

STRs are one of many nation’s key Anti-Cash Laundering (AML) instruments. In line with the info, STRs filed in 2025 have already exceeded the mixed totals of 2023 and 2024, hitting new document highs.