Even when the stock market closes at night and on weekends, cryptocurrency prices never stop moving. A trading system with no concept of market open or close is one of the most distinctive features setting virtual assets apart from stocks. From trading hours to equity structure, listing reviews, price volatility controls, and taxation, virtual assets effectively operate under different rules from stocks in virtually every respect.

① Trading Hours — 24 Hours a Day, 365 Days a Year, No Price Limits

Stocks trade only on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., excluding holidays, with order acceptance limited from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Daily price movements are also capped at 30% above or below the previous day's close.

Virtual assets, by contrast, have no concept of market open or close. Trading takes place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no holidays or fixed trading hours, and there are no distinctions such as after-hours markets or order acceptance windows. With no price limits in place, prices have repeatedly soared several-fold or plunged sharply, whether in the early morning hours or on weekends.

Another characteristic is that trading units are not one-share increments like stocks, but fractional units dividing a single coin into tiny decimal portions. Since the market never closes, investors essentially must set their own buy and sell lines and continuously monitor prices.

② Equity Structure — No Ownership or Voting Rights, Except for Security Tokens

Buying a stock means purchasing a piece of ownership in the company. Shareholders are therefore granted dividend rights to share in the company's profits and voting rights exercisable at one vote per share at general shareholders' meetings.

Virtual assets lack this equity-like character. Their value is formed by a much broader mix of variables, including the issuer's growth potential, the asset's scarcity, and technological extensibility, and no matter how many coins one holds, one does not become the owner of the issuing company. However, security tokens (ST), which are issued on the blockchain backed by real or financial assets such as real estate or bonds, are recognized as conferring ownership of the underlying asset along with dividend and voting rights, making the regulatory developments in this area worth watching.

③ Listing Reviews — Stocks Go Through the Korea Exchange; Crypto Depends on Exchanges' Discretion

The Korea Exchange approves listings only after companies pass both formal requirements, such as business scale, and qualitative reviews assessing the suitability of the business. After listing, trades must go through licensed securities firms, with the Korea Exchange handling clearing and the Korea Securities Depository handling settlement and custody.

For virtual assets, on the other hand, apart from the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information aimed at anti-money laundering, there is no law governing listings or delistings. Whether to list a coin depends entirely on each exchange's internal policies. The Digital Asset Exchange Common Consultative Body (DAXA), formed by won-market exchanges, is discussing common guidelines, but these have yet to gain legal binding force.

④ Safeguards Against Crashes — A Market Without Circuit Breakers

The stock market is equipped with control mechanisms such as circuit breakers, which halt trading entirely when declines deepen, and sidecars, which cushion shocks from program trading. The virtual asset market has essentially no statutory devices corresponding to these. Some exchanges designate 'investment caution' coins under their own criteria, which is about the extent of it, and joint response measures at the DAXA level also remain in the discussion stage.

⑤ Taxation — Confirmed for January 2027, With the National Assembly as a Variable

Stocks are subject to a securities transaction tax of 0.20% of the sale amount when sold and a dividend income tax of 15.4% (including local income tax) on dividends received. Major shareholders meeting certain requirements also bear capital gains tax separately.

The legal basis for taxing virtual assets was established through a 2020 income tax amendment, but implementation was postponed three times, from 2022 to 2023 to 2025, and is now confirmed to take effect on January 1, 2027. Income from transfers and lending will be classified as miscellaneous income, with an annual deduction of up to 2.5 million won and a combined rate of 22% — 20% income tax plus local income tax — applied to the excess.

The government has stated as recently as now that it will push ahead as scheduled without further deferral, but bills to abolish the tax altogether and bills to delay implementation until 2030 are both pending in the National Assembly, so the final implementation could change depending on the Assembly's discussions in the second half of the year.

Variables to Watch

From round-the-clock trading hours to equity structure, listing reviews, price volatility controls, and taxes, virtual assets effectively stand on rules different from stocks in virtually every area, and investor protection mechanisms remain relatively weak. With more than 10 virtual asset-related bills currently pending in the National Assembly, what form the minimum safeguards will take and whether the 2027 tax will be implemented as scheduled remain variables to keep watching.

[This article is for informational purposes only; investment decisions and their consequences are the responsibility of the investor. AI assistance was partially used.]