South Korea and U.S. Set for High-Level Crypto Regulatory Talks in January

It is planned that Gary Gensler, the Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), would meet with Lee Bok-hyun, the Chief of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). This meeting is expected to be of critical importance. As reported by Chosunbiz on December 18, this conference, which is scheduled to take place in January, is a proactive approach to examining the dynamics of the cryptocurrency market as well as prospective supervisory measures.

The timing of this conference is especially important when taking into consideration the current changes that are occurring in the regulatory landscapes of both the United States of America and South Korea. It has been speculated that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would soon give its approval to a number of exchange-traded products including Bitcoin. In the meanwhile, it is anticipated that South Korea will impose new rules by July 2024, which would have a big influence on cryptocurrency traders and exchanges. The significance of these high-level meetings is highlighted by the fact that the regulatory landscape is constantly changing.

In addition, the situation with Do Kwon, who was a co-founder of Terraform Labs, causes the regulatory landscape to become even more convoluted. The fact that Kwon is struggling with legal issues in a number of different nations, including the possibility of being extradited to the United States, adds another degree of complication to the discussions that Lee and Gensler are having. The existence of this issue is illustrative of the complex relationship that exists between international law and the decentralized structure of cryptocurrency.

To this point, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has only authorized exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are tied to bitcoin futures. This is because Gary Gensler has been in charge of the SEC. Determinations on spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are being keenly anticipated by the industry, particularly with regard to big cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether. There is a possibility that the impending discussion between Lee and Gensler may offer insight on potential future regulatory measures around this region.

Image source: Shutterstock