According to a report by South Korean media outlet “HankYung,” the Democratic Party of Korea has promised to request financial regulatory agencies to reconsider the approval of a Bitcoin ETF that has been previously rejected. Previous reports stated that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea had declined to approve the issuance or trading of a Bitcoin ETF, citing the lack of legal basis indicating that Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies could serve as underlying assets for such products.
However, the opposition Democratic Party achieved a significant victory in the April elections, securing a majority in the National Assembly with 175 out of 300 seats. Citing sources from the Democratic Party, “HankYung” reported that once the 22nd National Assembly of South Korea takes office in June, the party will request the FSC to reevaluate the Bitcoin ETF in order to open up such financial products in the country. In addition, the Democratic Party is also considering options to amend existing financial regulations to prevent the Financial Supervisory Service from refusing to approve Bitcoin funds.
In comparison to South Korea, Taiwan is currently at a standstill in terms of Bitcoin ETFs, whether it is the ability to purchase foreign commodities or approve the issuance of related products. In March of this year, Huang Tien-mu, the Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, stated during questioning by legislators that it is currently not appropriate to open up delegated investment in Bitcoin ETFs. The main reason is that Taiwan’s asset positioning for Bitcoin is unclear, and the Securities and Futures Bureau of the Financial Supervisory Commission has already requested domestic securities firms not to accept buy orders for delegated investment and is formulating related measures. A decision on whether delegated investment will cover Bitcoin ETFs will be made by the end of April. However, there seems to be no progress on this issue so far.
