Two South Korean Brokerages Pause Transactions of Foreign Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Two major South Korean securities firms have suspended transaction services of foreign spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Following an announcement from South Korea’s Financial Services Commission, the country’s top financial watchdog, Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Securities halted new transactions of foreign spot Bitcoin ETFs offered on their platforms.
“Domestic securities firms brokering overseas-listed Bitcoin spot ETFs may violate the existing government stance on virtual assets and the Capital Markets Act,” the announcement read.
The announcement timing is likely related to the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday, as a Financial Services Commission (FSC) official told local media on Thursday that the SEC’s decision would not influence the regulator to reconsider its ban on South Korean financial institutions from releasing their own cryptocurrency ETFs.
Local South Korean news outlet Dailian was the first to report that Samsung Securities and Mirae had suspended transactions of foreign Bitcoin ETFs. Samsung Securities managed about $220 billion worth of assets at the end of 2022, while Mirae had about $215 billion in assets under management at the end of June 2023.
Mirae confirmed with The Block that the company had halted transactions of foreign spot bitcoin ETFs, along with several others Korean financial institutions. A Mirae spokesperson noted that the FSC’s announcement was the main factor for the suspension, as South Korean financial institutions are now worried that offering foreign Bitcoin ETFs could be seen as illegal by the Korean government.
However, the suspension will not affect the trading of foreign Bitcoin futures ETFs in Korea. Foreign Bitcoin futures ETFs
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