Chairman of the South Korean Stock Exchange, Jeong Eun-bo, believes the nation should act quickly in institutionalizing the crypto market or risk falling behind other countries.

In an interview with South Korean media outlet Maeil Kyungjae, Eun-bo argued the crypto market needs to be institutionalized in the same way that traditional finance has in order to overcome regulatory roadblocks.

If they fail to do so, Eun-bo believes South Korea will not be able to compete with countries that have already embraced crypto and put forth regulations that place virtual assets on equal standing with traditional assets.

“If we are vague with our treatment of virtual currency and treat it as a speculative asset, we will fall behind in terms of international competitiveness,” he said.

He emphasized how crypto adoption in the global market has developed at such a rapid pace that it even managed to surpass the domestic stock market in terms of trading volume.

“The average daily trading volume of the domestic stock market is approximately 20 trillion won ($13.9 billion). But the virtual currency market has surpassed this since Donald Trump was elected as U.S. President,” said Eun-bo.

The Chairman’s remarks came after he recently attended the World Exchange Market summit, where crypto-relates issues were “seriously discussed” during the conference.

At the time of writing, there are no crypto firms formally listed on the South Korean Stock Exchange and local companies are still unable to add crypto investments to their balance sheets. Not only that, the nation’s government has yet to approve the launch of Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded funds.

According to the report, some insiders in the financial investment industry pointed out that banning spot ETFs that track the price of Bitcoin while allowing leveraged trading for conventional ETFs “makes no sense from an investor protection standpoint.”

Unfortunately, financial investors will have to wait a little longer before any major changes can be made for Bitcoin spot ETFs or the wider crypto market in South Korea.

As previously reported by crypto.news, an official confirmed the South Korean National Assembly has decided to put all crypto-related regulations on hold until mid-2025, following proceedings for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

According to Associated Press, the South Korean parliament voted to impeach President Yoon after his short-lived martial law decree that sent the country into a political crisis. After the vote passed, the National Assembly passed motion 204-85 and Yoon’s presidential powers and duties have been suspended.

The Constitutional Court now has up to six months to decide whether to sustain Yoon’s impeachment or restore his presidency.