South Korea Discusses Approval of Spot ETFs in Bitcoin

"Establishing of a Virtual Asset Committee."
"Discussion of BTC Spot ETF approval"

The Korea Financial Services Commission(Financial Services Commission) announced a plan to establish a virtual asset committee on Oct. 10 for the purpose of approving Bitcoin(BTC) spot exchange-traded funds(ETF) and allowing transactions in Korea.

The Financial Services Commission said in a report on the state of the National Assembly's political affairs committee on the 10th, "We will form a virtual asset committee to discuss major issues such as approving virtual asset spot ETFs and allowing corporate accounts."

In January this year, Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S. were approved, and Bitcoin spot ETFs became a major trend in the global financial market, and South Korea also saw a significant market demand for Bitcoin spot ETFs.

However, the Financial Services Commission has stuck to a complete ban on trading virtual asset ETFs, including Bitcoin, because they are not in underlying assets under the Capital Markets Act. It has begun to pave the way for such a move.

The Financial Services Commission explained to the Virtual Asset Committee, "It is an advisory body for consultation on policies and systems for virtual asset markets and business operators, and the chairman is the vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, and the members are composed of the Financial Services Commission, officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Justice, and Science and Technology, and nine private citizens."

"We will first focus on the smooth settlement of the law on the protection of virtual asset users, respond to pending issues such as renewal reports, and continue to review additional system improvement measures, and will also gradually and step-by-step review of two-stage legislation, including business activity regulations," he said.

Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Byung-hwan, who attended the National Policy Committee's parliamentary audit on the 10th, also said, "In accordance with the enforcement of the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, we will implement follow-up measures such as establishing an unfair trade monitoring system without a hitch and consider further improvement measures such as the second stage of legislation."

권승원 기자 ksw@