On Friday, South Korea’s financial regulator responded to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), suggesting that brokering such ETFs in local markets may run afoul of existing regulations. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) stated, “For domestic securities firms, engaging in the brokering of overseas-listed Bitcoin spot Exchange Traded Funds may contravene the current government stance on virtual assets and the Capital Markets Act.”
This announcement comes as a response to a significant development in the cryptocurrency industry – the trading commencement of several exchange-traded funds linked to the spot price of bitcoin in the U.S. on Thursday. This event marks a milestone for the industry, which has been diligently seeking regulatory approval for such financial products for over a decade. The FSC of South Korea emphasized that it will persist in evaluating the regulatory landscape concerning the investment in spot bitcoin ETFs.