No hope for Korea's crypto ETF launch this year: Policy priorities shift, market now expects 2026

According to Korean media reports on December 8, plans for Korea's financial regulators to approve spot crypto ETF trading within the year have essentially fallen through. This delay is mainly due to the required amendments to the Capital Markets Act not being completed as scheduled, thereby blocking the compliant investment channel the market was anticipating.

It is understood that there are currently four legal amendment bills directly related to the approval of spot crypto ETFs still awaiting processing.

The core reason behind this situation lies in the dispersion of policy resources, institutional restructuring at the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service, and the government focusing its main efforts on boosting the traditional stock market and other high-priority economic agendas.

These factors have collectively relegated the institutionalization process of crypto assets to a lower priority in decision-making.

This policy shift contrasts with the proactive stance shown by the new government earlier this year. At that time, the Financial Services Commission explicitly listed "building a digital asset ecosystem" as a national agenda item and released a detailed roadmap aimed at launching spot crypto ETFs in the second half of 2025.

Analysts have pointed out that since this issue was ultimately not included in the government's highest-priority strategic agenda, and given the large number of legal provisions that need to be reviewed and amended simultaneously, the advancement process is fraught with challenges and may ultimately lead to the cancellation of this year’s plans.

With the potential failure to meet this year’s target, the market’s focus has shifted to 2026. Whether Korea’s crypto ETF approvals can proceed as scheduled in the future will depend on the stance of the new regulatory team after institutional restructuring is complete, as well as whether the relevant legal amendments can garner enough political momentum and priority in next year’s parliamentary review.

For Korea’s large group of crypto asset holders and the world’s second-largest crypto trading market, this delay means institutional investors still cannot conveniently and compliantly participate in crypto investment through traditional financial institutions.

In summary, for financial innovations like spot crypto ETFs that are entirely policy-driven, the clarity of Korea’s legal and regulatory framework and the priority of the issue on the government agenda are key factors determining whether such projects can be successfully implemented.

#韩国 #crypto ETF