Korbit Achieves Industry-First Global Certification for Financial Internal Controls

Final Acquisition of SOC 1 Certification

Virtual asset exchange Korbit announced on the 23rd that it has passed the industry’s first global standard certification for internal controls related to client financial reporting (SOC 1) Stage 2 (SOC 1 Type 2).

Korbit published a report containing this information and ultimately obtained the SOC 1 certification. SOC certification is a system in which an independent auditor evaluates and verifies the adequacy of internal controls of the service provider company according to the certification standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) to ensure stable service provision.

The certification is divided into △SOC 1 (related to client financial reporting) △SOC 2 (service security, etc.) △SOC 3 (general purpose report on service security and operations) depending on the evaluation items. Each certification is divided into two stages. Type 1 expresses an opinion on the design of internal controls as of a specific date, and Type 2 evaluates whether the internal controls were effectively operated as designed over a certain period. A report certifying this is issued each time a type is completed.

Korbit conducted the Stage 2 evaluation process of SOC 1 with Samduk Accounting Corporation, one of the top five accounting firms in Korea. First, the Type 1 report containing an opinion on the design of internal controls as of December 31, 2022, was already published in January last year. This time, Korbit issued the Type 2 report recognizing the effective operation of internal controls throughout the past year.

The company explained that SOC 1 certification is equivalent to an international standard for internal controls related to client financial reporting. If the auditor of a corporation using Korbit’s exchange service needs to review the exchange’s internal controls related to finance or accounting, they can use Korbit’s SOC 1 certification report to determine that the internal controls are effectively operated without additional verification procedures. For example, this applies to corporations wishing to use virtual asset deposits and withdrawals, KRW deposits and withdrawals, virtual asset buying and selling, and other staking services.

Additionally, it enables efficient response during audits conducted by supervisory authorities of corporations using Korbit’s services. Since it can meet the changing accounting and regulatory requirements after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, it can enhance trust in virtual asset trading services. Among major overseas virtual asset exchanges, Coinbase and Gemini have already completed both stages of SOC 1.

Sejin Oh, CEO of Korbit, said, “It is meaningful that Korbit now stands shoulder to shoulder with major overseas virtual asset exchanges by finally obtaining the SOC 1 certification.” He added, “As voices calling for allowing corporate virtual asset investments in Korea have grown following the recent approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF in the U.S., Korbit will strive to become a virtual asset exchange that corporations can trust.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.