South Korea regulator issues warning over Bitcoin ETFs

BITCOIN ETF trading could be against the law in local markets, finance chiefs in South Korea have warned.

Seoul's Financial Services Commission issued a statement today which reminds brokers that using foreign exchange-traded funds risks violating the South Korean government's guidelines.

"For domestic securities firms, any brokering of overseas-listed Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds may violate the existing government stance on virtual assets and the Capital Markets Act," the commission said, adding that it would review its regulation of investment related to overseas ETFs.

The first Bitcoin ETFs opened for trading in the US yesterday after approval was granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

According to LSEG data last night, more than $4.6 billion in shares changed hands on US Bitcoin ETFs during the opening day. The trades were largely dominated by BlackRock, Grayscale and Fidelity.