South Korea’s Crypto Revolution: Ruling Party Pushes Spot ETF Approval and Banking Reform
Seoul shakes up finance with dual crypto moves—ETFs get green light while legacy banking rules face axe.
Breaking Wall Street’s Playbook: Korean lawmakers aim to bypass traditional finance gatekeepers with direct crypto access.
Behind the political push: A bid to lure blockchain talent and capital as institutional demand surges past $4B locally.
The irony? Banks that once blocked crypto transfers now face obsolescence—poetic justice for an industry that still settles trades via fax.
‘Golden standard’
During the committee meeting, Rep. Choi Bo-yoon said that PPP also plans to introduce a "global standard" regulatory system for stablecoins, local media reported.
To oversee the implementation of its digital asset agenda, the party seeks to establish a Virtual Asset Special Committee directly under the presidential office.
The PPP has vowed to enact the Framework Act on the Promotion of Digital Assets, which would subdivide exchange operations, create listing regulations, and introduce a disclosure system for digital asset transactions.
The party’s push aligns with a global shift toward crypto deregulation, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s moves to repeal DeFi broker reporting rules, authorize the creation of a national Bitcoin stockpile, and place crypto as a CORE element of American financial policy.
Invoking Trump-era deregulation, PPP presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo recently vowed to “eliminate regulations as much as the Trump administration did” and pledged to expand blockchain applications across South Korean public services.
Still, whether the PPP’s agenda can move forward will depend on the election outcome.
Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung has campaigned on restoring democratic norms and stabilizing the economy, but has offered few specifics about his stance on regulating digital assets.
Current polling shows Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 race, now holding a commanding lead over his rivals, according to local media.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
