South Korea could soon follow in the footsteps of Hong Kong and legalize spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as the main presidential candidates in the country have expressed favorable positions towards cryptocurrencies.
Still, some industry observers remain cautious about the likelihood of regulatory change in the short term.
"The three main South Korean presidential candidates support #Bitcoin ETFs and institutional investment," wrote Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of the onchain data platform CryptoQuant, in a post on X on May 14.
Currently, Bitcoin ETFs and institutional crypto investments are prohibited in South Korea, meaning that "100% [of the] volume comes from retail trading," Ju added.
