South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) will review the lifting of the ban on local spot cryptocurrency ETFs and consider allowing institutional accounts to open accounts on crypto exchanges, according to Wu.

The decision was driven by the FSC’s newly formed Cryptocurrency Committee, as regulators soften their stance on digital assets entering traditional financial markets.

Since 2018, South Korean institutional investors have been effectively banned from establishing cryptocurrency trading accounts on exchanges due to strict guidance from the FSC, and South Korean lawmakers have been calling for a change to this status quo.

As early as this year’s election campaign, both the ruling party and the opposition party promised to approve the listing of a local spot Bitcoin ETF.