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 belongings saved in chilly wallets might be topic to seizure.

In response to a report from native information outlet Hankook Ilbo, an NTS official said the company is ready to conduct residence searches and confiscate arduous drives and chilly pockets gadgets if it suspects that tax delinquents are hiding their crypto belongings offline. 

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

Below the nation’s Nationwide Tax Assortment Act, the NTS can request account info from native exchanges, freeze accounts from tax delinquents and liquidate their belongings 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 methodology 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 belongings, the NTS mentioned that it can be used to hide belongings, making tax assortment tougher.

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

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

The outlet mentioned that buying and selling volumes within the nation climbed from 1 trillion gained ($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 focusing on tax evaders’ crypto belongings 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 said that during the last 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 stories (STRs) as of August 2025. 

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