Financial authorities rule out possibility of bitcoin ETFs after US authorization
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference held at Bank of Korea, Seoul, Jan. 11. Yonhap
Financial authorities in Korea will not review the necessity of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the spot price of bitcoin after the United States' authorization of such ETFs, a senior official said Sunday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved trading of ETFs tied to the spot price of bitcoin last week, in a landmark decision for the cryptocurrency investment.
The official at financial authorities said, "The direction has been arranged to see the trend without reviewing a brokerage of the U.S. bitcoin spot ETFs or the launch of the local bitcoin spot ETFs."
In a statement last Friday, Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) said trading of ETFs tied to bitcoin could be illegal here.
In an official response to the U.S. decision on bitcoin ETFs, Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong told reporters last week that bitcoin became a risky investment asset. (Yonhap)