Local brokers prohibited by FSC from offering overseas spot Bitcoin ETFs
South Korea’s financial regulator has announced that domestic securities firms are not allowed to offer spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in international markets. The country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) stated in a press release on January 12th that offering spot Bitcoin ETFs abroad could potentially violate the government’s existing stance on virtual assets. However, the FSC did mention the possibility of reviewing its crypto regulation in the future without providing further details.
According to Korean news outlets, local securities firms such as Mirae Asset Securities and Samsung Securities have suspended transactions for clients from Canada and Germany involving spot Bitcoin ETFs due to the imposed restrictions. Mirae Asset Securities, for example, halted trading of its Purpose Bitcoin ETF, which had been listed on the Canadian stock exchange since February 2021 and had been trading without restrictions until recently.
As previously reported, an FSC official emphasized that there have been no changes to the government’s policy on virtual asset investment by financial institutions, despite the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. South Korea made its stance on cryptocurrencies clear on December 13, 2017, when emergency measures were introduced to prohibit financial institutions from holding, purchasing, using as collateral, or investing in cryptocurrencies.
On January 10th, the SEC approved several spot Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national exchanges in the US, including Nasdaq, NYSE, and CBOE, following a ten-year pursuit of these products. Shortly after the approval, SEC Chair Gary Gensler mentioned in a statement that despite the green light, the agency did not endorse or approve Bitcoin. He also cautioned investors to remain wary of the various risks associated with Bitcoin and products linked to crypto.
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