According to Bloomberg, South Korea's political parties are embracing cryptocurrency in their election campaigns, highlighting the nation's status as one of the world's largest crypto markets. Democratic Party policy specialist Yoon has indicated that they are open to allowing both domestic and overseas Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) that invest directly in Bitcoin. This follows the US's decision in January to approve such ETFs, a move that caused some confusion and impacted numerous stocks.
The People Power Party, on the other hand, has chosen not to focus on this controversy. Instead, they have pledged to postpone the implementation of planned taxes on cryptocurrency gains beyond the scheduled timeframe of 2025. This comes as South Koreans continue to show significant interest in the crypto market. Data from the Korea Securities Depository reveals that South Koreans invested over $200 million in the shares of US-listed Bitcoin holders last month. Furthermore, around 7% of election candidates reportedly own cryptocurrency, according to Yonhap.
However, the speculative nature of the crypto market also poses significant risks. South Korea has previously experienced a major market crash that affected hundreds of thousands of people. Despite this, the memory of the crash is being overshadowed by this year's $900 billion increase in the crypto market. This, combined with the promises made by politicians, suggests a growing acceptance of digital assets in South Korea, reflecting a broader trend across Asia. In contrast, many US officials remain opposed to cryptocurrency.
Expectations are growing that spot-crypto ETFs will eventually be permitted in South Korea, which could lead to the crypto market becoming more widely established as an investment asset.
