Financial Services Commission: "US Bitcoin Spot ETF Brokerage Violates Current Law"

Ban on Brokerage by Domestic Securities Firms
"Further Review Planned"

Although the U.S. Bitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) was approved on the 10th (local time), the financial authorities stated that domestic securities firms brokering this would violate the current Capital Markets Act.

On the 11th, the Financial Services Commission announced, "Domestic securities firms brokering overseas-listed Bitcoin spot ETFs may violate the government's existing stance on virtual assets and the Capital Markets Act."

They added, "However, since the 'Act on the Protection of Users of Virtual Assets, etc.' will be enforced starting July this year and regulations on virtual assets are being established, along with overseas cases such as in the U.S., further review will be conducted."

The Financial Services Commission is known to have judged that Bitcoin spot ETFs fall outside the scope of investment brokerage licenses under the current Capital Markets Act. It is also reported that this guideline was communicated to domestic securities firms on the afternoon of the previous day.

On the previous day, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in a statement that it had approved 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs applied for by Grayscale Investments, Bitwise, and others.

The Financial Supervisory Service is also paying attention to the increased price volatility across virtual assets following the U.S. SEC's approval of Bitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs). On the 9th, the Financial Supervisory Service launched the Virtual Asset Supervision Bureau and the Virtual Asset Investigation Bureau.

The Financial Supervisory Service stated, "As the need to protect users of high-risk products such as virtual assets is increasing, we plan to actively respond through the launch of these dedicated departments."