The South Korean National Tax Service (NTS) is tightening its crackdown on tax evasion and has warned that crypto assets stored in cold wallets will also be subject to seizure.
According to a report in local news outlet Korea Ilbo, an IRS official said that the IRS is prepared to conduct raids and confiscate hard drives and cold wallet devices if tax delinquents are suspected of hiding crypto assets offline.
A spokesperson for the National Tax Agency said, “We will analyze the coin transaction history of tax delinquents through a cryptographic tracking program, and if we suspect offline concealment, we will search and seize their homes.”
Under the National Tax Collection Act, NTS can request account information from local exchanges, freeze accounts of tax defaulters and liquidate assets at market value to cover unpaid taxes.
NTS seizes and liquidates over $100 million worth of cryptocurrencies over four years
A cold wallet is a method of cryptographic storage that remains disconnected from the internet. This setting makes it more difficult for hackers to access your funds remotely. The NTS said that while it helps ensure the safety of crypto assets, it can also be used to hide assets, making tax collection more difficult.
The statement marks a new phase in the agency’s enforcement strategy as cryptocurrencies continue to gain mainstream adoption in the country.
Korea Ilbo reported that the number of domestic cryptocurrency investors has surged to nearly 11 million as of June, an increase of nearly 800% from 1.2 million in 2020.
The media also reported that domestic trading volume increased from 1 trillion won ($730 million) to 6.4 trillion won ($4.7 billion) during the same period.
The rapid increase in the adoption of virtual currencies has also led to an increase in virtual currency-related tax evasion cases in the country. The agency first began targeting the crypto assets of tax evaders in 2021, seizing approximately $50 million from 5,700 suspects.
Since then, the NTS has accelerated its efforts and increased oversight of the use of cryptocurrencies for tax evasion in the country. The report states that over the past four years, NTS has seized and liquidated $108 million in cryptocurrencies from more than 14,000 individuals.
Related: South Korean retail capital drives Ether prices and government bond demand: Samsung Mo
Suspicious virtual currency transactions will increase rapidly in 2025
NTS is focusing on cold wallets amid a surge in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions in 2025.
On September 22, data from the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) showed that the country’s virtual asset service providers (VASPs) had filed approximately 37,000 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) as of August 2025.
STR is one of the country’s key anti-money laundering (AML) tools. According to the data, STRs filed in 2025 have already exceeded the combined total of 2023 and 2024, setting a new record high.
magazine: Alibaba founder promotes Ethereum, 91% of Korean market is whale: Asia Express
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