The Daily Ledger: 26 October 2026
South Korea Crypto Tax Delay: Why Seoul Eyes 2029
South Korea may delay its 22% crypto gains tax to 2029 because US trading data arrives last under the OECD's CARF. Plus Lummis on CLARITY Act fundraising caps, Latvia's tokenization plan and bitcoin's weakest close since September.
THE DAILY LEDGER
26 October 2026
South Korea's presidential office leans towards delaying its crypto gains tax to 2029, Senator Lummis says Democrats asked for tighter CLARITY Act fundraising caps, and bitcoin posts its weakest daily close since 17 September.
Reporting window: 25 October 2026, 09:40 UTC to 26 October, 06:00 UTC (07:00 Europe/Stockholm, on CET since clocks went back on 25 October). Data cutoff: 26 October, 06:00 UTC. Prices are CoinGecko 00:00 UTC daily snapshots compared with the previous day's 00:00 UTC snapshot. This issue was added to the archive on 30 October 2026 and uses only information available at the cutoff.
Why is South Korea delaying its crypto tax again? On 25 October a presidential office official said the 22 percent tax on crypto gains, due in January 2027, is being discussed with a view to postponing it, most likely to 2029, and named the reason: the United States will not share crypto trading data with Korea until then, Newsis reported. Nothing is decided, and only the National Assembly can move the date.
1. The Day in Numbers
- Bitcoin: $80,049 at 00:00 UTC, down 0.9 percent against the previous day's 00:00 UTC snapshot of $80,811. CoinGecko daily data.
- Ether: $2,326.83 at 00:00 UTC, down 1.3 percent on the same basis. CoinGecko daily data.
- Fear and Greed: 50, Neutral, down 4 points from 54. Alternative.me daily reading, 26 October, 00:00 UTC.
- Bitcoin's range in the window: $79,255 to $80,859 on Coinbase's BTC-USD market, with the low between 03:00 and 04:00 UTC on Monday, per Coinbase hourly candles.
2. South Korea crypto tax delay: why the US data gap matters
The tax is already law. Gains from selling or lending crypto from 1 January 2027 are taxed separately at 20 percent, 22 percent with local tax, above a basic deduction of 2.5 million won a year, and declared each May, according to the National Tax Service. Coins held before 2027 may use their 31 December 2026 market price as cost when that is higher. Set in 2020 to start in 2022, the tax has been postponed three times.
The case for a fourth delay rests on the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF. Crypto service providers collect each customer's tax residence and trades and report them to their own tax authority, which forwards the data once a year to the customer's home country, as Slovenia's tax administration explains. Korea is among 46 jurisdictions making first exchanges by 2027; the United States is one of four that start in 2029, the OECD's commitment list shows.
The official called the missing US data the biggest obstacle. Without it, the tax office would have to trace trades on US platforms case by case, and the burden would fall mostly on users of Korean exchanges. A bill from Democratic Party lawmaker Park Min-gyu, filed on 16 October, would start the tax two years after Korea's first data exchange, pointing to 2029, Herald Business reports.
What remains open: the presidential office says it is reviewing a delay but has decided nothing. A decision is expected in the Assembly's tax law talks in late November or early December; until then, January 2027 stands.
3. Today's Headlines
Lummis says Democrats asked for tighter fundraising caps
Senator Cynthia Lummis wrote on 25 October that Democrats asked to cut the CLARITY Act's annual Regulation Crypto fundraising cap from $75 million to $50 million and add a $200 million lifetime limit, and that Republicans agreed to both. That is her account; the bill has not moved since its 49 to 50 procedural vote on 15 September, Blockonomi notes. Our 21 October issue explains the SEC's own proposal.
Latvia aims for tokenization rules in 2027
Economics Minister Viktors Valainis told CoinDesk that rules for tokenizing real-world assets could arrive in the first half of 2027 "if everything goes smoothly", starting with commercial property, with government bonds on the "priority list". A legal assessment due on 1 October is unfinished, and a new government is forming.
Bitcoin's weakest daily close since 17 September
Bitcoin closed Sunday at $80,053 on Coinbase, its lowest daily close since 17 September, per Coinbase daily candles. CoinDesk linked the slip to traders cutting risk before the Federal Reserve's 27 and 28 October meeting.
4. Security Note
Evergreen reminder, not a new incident: tax news brings tax-themed scams offering to "calculate" or "refund" crypto tax if you connect a wallet. No tax office needs your recovery phrase, and no tax report needs permission to move your coins. The rule: build records from exchange statements and transaction exports, as our Ledger Live tax export guide shows, and treat any tax message asking you to sign something as hostile.
5. From the Academy Library
Our crypto tax and regulation guide explains how tax authorities treat disposals. New readers can start at Academy School.
A tax is only as even as the tax office's view of where trades happen. Seoul would rather wait until it can see more of the market.
Disclaimer: This publication is for education and information only. It is not financial, investment, legal, tax, or security advice.
Sources and further reading
- Newsis: government leans towards a fourth crypto tax delay, 2029 favoured (Korean), 26 October 2026, 06:00 KST
- Herald Business: crypto tax delayed three times, heading for another postponement (Korean)
- Electronic Times: presidential office leans towards another crypto tax delay (Korean), 25 October 2026
- National Tax Service: virtual asset income taxation (Korean)
- OECD Global Forum: jurisdictions committed to implement the CARF, updated 14 September 2026
- Financial Administration of Slovenia: automatic exchange of information under DAC8 and the CARF
- Senator Cynthia Lummis on X, 25 October 2026
- Blockonomi: CLARITY Act vote stalls after Lummis says cap changes were added
- CoinDesk: Latvia targets tokenization rules in 2027, 25 October 2026
- CoinDesk: bitcoin slips under $80,000 as traders de-risk ahead of Fed meeting, 26 October 2026
- Federal Reserve: FOMC meeting calendar
- Coinbase Exchange: BTC-USD hourly candles for the reporting window
- Coinbase Exchange: BTC-USD daily candles, 10 September to 25 October 2026
- CoinGecko: bitcoin daily price snapshots
- CoinGecko: ether daily price snapshots
- Alternative.me: Fear and Greed Index history