SEOUL – South Korean authorities are debating whether to allow the sale of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the country, the head of a financial watchdog said on Tuesday.
“Among authorities, I am one of those who are positive about virtual assets, while there are others who are cautious, and we also need to hear their views. We are internally discussing it,” said Lee Bok-hyun, the country’s governor. Financial Control Service.
His comments were made in a radio interview in response to a question about authorities’ views on spot bitcoin ETFs, which are currently not available to investors in South Korea.
In January, South Korea’s financial authorities said it had no plans to regulate sales of bitcoin futures ETFs. However, it said brokerage sales of spot bitcoin ETFs could violate the Capital Markets Act given the question of whether bitcoin qualifies to be an underlying asset.
Lee said he expects the public to have a chance to air their views on it after virtual assets come under regulatory scrutiny in the second half of the year.