South Korean Presidential Office Suggests Reevaluation of ETF Approval

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South Korea‘s Presidential Office has recently proposed reconsideration for the approval of a local spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to reports from Maeil Business, the suggestion for reevaluating the spot Bitcoin ETF comes from Sung Tae-yoon, the Chief of Staff for Policy at the South Korean Presidential Office.

During a briefing, Sung highlighted the government’s interest in aligning local regulations with international standards, suggesting a more open approach towards cryptocurrencies and related financial products like ETFs.

Responding to the question, “Are you considering institutionalizing Bitcoin?” in briefing, Sung said, “We need to change our country’s legal system appropriately, or things that happen overseas can be accepted in our country.”

South Korea’s Government Reviews Spot Bitcoin ETF Prospects

The Presidential Office’s made the statement following the South Korean Financial Services Commission’s previous announcement regarding the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which warns the domestic securities firms against listing them.

“Domestic securities firms brokering overseas-listed Bitcoin spot ETFs may violate the existing government stance on virtual assets and the Capital Markets Act,” said the Commission.

Meanwhile, the Commission did not eliminate all the possibilities, saying, “However, regulations on virtual assets are being established, such as the Act on the Protection of Users of Virtual Assets, etc., which went into effect in July of this year.”

“We plan to further review them as there are overseas cases, such as in the United States,” added the Commission.

Sung reinstated that the government has not made a final decision regarding Bitcoin ETFs, saying, “We have told the Financial Services Commission, the responsible ministry, not to have a specific direction of ‘yes or no’.”

The reconsideration was explained to concentrate on evaluating the potential side-effects and risk factors the foreign financial products might bring to South Korea.

IBK Analysis: SEC’s Role in Bitcoin Price Fluctuations

Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) Investment and Securities has anticipated a strong market, saying, “From the perspective of individual investors, the demand for direct investment in the cryptocurrency market will be solid.”

As Bitcoin price dropped to the $41,000 level, trading at $41,219 at the time of writing according to CoinMarketCap, the IBK researcher believed that the anticlimax post Bitcoin ETF’s approval is caused by the SEC.

“The reason for the temporary weakness is confirmed to be due to the pre-projection of the issue and the influence of the SEC,” said the researcher. “It has been showing strength in conjunction with expectations for the listing of Bitcoin spot ETF and the decline in U.S. market interest rates since October of last year.”