South Korea Tax Agency Targets Cold Wallets in Crypto Seizures

South Korea's National Tax Service (NTS) is intensifying its efforts to clamp down on tax evasion related to cryptocurrency, announcing that assets in cold wallets are now included in potential seizures. The NTS plans to conduct home searches to confiscate hard drives and devices associated with suspected tax delinquents hiding their crypto holdings offline. An NTS official indicated that they utilize crypto-tracking programs to analyze transaction histories, allowing them to identify potential hidden assets. According to the National Tax Collection Act, the NTS has the authority to freeze accounts and liquidate assets to recover unpaid taxes. Since 2021, they have confiscated approximately $108 million in crypto from over 14,000 individuals, reflecting a growing trend as crypto adoption surges in South Korea; the number of investors rose from 1.2 million in 2020 to nearly 11 million by June 2025. This crackdown accompanies an increase in suspicious transaction reports, underscoring the agency's heightened oversight amid rising crypto investments and tax evasion cases.

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