South Korean lawmaker proposes bill to legalize spot crypto ETFs, derivatives

A bill has been introduced in South Korea's National Assembly to legalize spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and crypto derivatives, which have long been blocked by unofficial regulatory restrictions, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Nov. 26. According to the National Assembly's bill information system, Representative Park Sang-hyeok of the ruling Democratic Party sponsored the proposed "Act on the Market and Industry of Digital Assets." The legislation directly challenges a long-standing interpretation by South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) that virtual assets cannot serve as underlying assets for financial investment products, an interpretation that has effectively banned the launch of such products. The bill includes a special provision explicitly defining digital assets as a permissible underlying asset under the country's Capital Markets Act.