AhnLab Blockchain Company Wins South Korea Virtual Asset Business License

AhnLab Blockchain Company, the blockchain subsidiary of South Korean cybersecurity firm AhnLab known as ABC, has obtained a virtual asset service provider, or VASP, license from the country’s financial authorities, Byline Network reported on May 1.

ABC said South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit had accepted its initial VASP registration for virtual asset custody and transfer services. The approval gives the company a legal basis within the regulated system to hold and manage clients’ digital assets and transfer them through approved procedures.

The company plans to use the license to expand its Web3 financial infrastructure business for corporate clients. It is also working with SK Telecom, its second-largest shareholder, to build digital asset infrastructure for the financial sector and jointly review potential stablecoin use cases.

ABC said it has strengthened its custody capabilities by combining its security expertise with on-chain data analysis and a zero-trust-based custody infrastructure. Its in-house blockchain intelligence service, BICScan, uses Know Your Transaction, or KYT, technology to bolster anti-money laundering compliance and improve detection of unusual transactions. The company also applied multi-party computation, or MPC, technology to minimize internal risks such as private-key leaks.

“This approval has laid the groundwork for expanding our business within the institutional framework,” Chief Executive Officer Kang Seok-gyun said. “By combining regulatory compliance with technological innovation, we will build a trusted environment where users can use digital assets with confidence.”