Both major parties in South Korea's general election promise to relax restrictions on crypto ETFs to win votes
On April 6, Bloomberg reported that in the upcoming South Korean parliamentary elections on April 10, the ruling People's Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party of Korea both offered "policy dividends" related to cryptocurrencies in the campaign to attract voters in one of the world's largest crypto markets.
The Democratic Party of Korea promised to lift restrictions on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that directly hold tokens, including allowing investors to buy U.S. Bitcoin ETF products. Hwanseok Choi, a member of the party's think tank, said the party will allow investors to participate in both domestic and overseas crypto ETFs.
The ruling People's Power Party promised to postpone the cryptocurrency profit tax originally scheduled to be levied in 2025. Data shows that in the first half of last year, more than 6 million South Koreans participated in the crypto market through registered exchanges, accounting for more than 10% of the total population, which represents a large number of potential votes in this critical election.
Since the beginning of this year, the global cryptocurrency market has rebounded by nearly $900 billion, and the investment enthusiasm of the Korean people has also risen. In March, South Korean investors poured more than $200 million into shares of MicroStrategy, a U.S.-listed bitcoin holding company. Analysts expect South Korea to eventually allow spot crypto ETFs, making the crypto market more widely available as an investment asset.
