Share this article
Report: Bitcoin Derivatives Banned By South Korean Government
Regulators in South Korea have reportedly banned the trade of futures contracts and other derivatives tied to bitcoin.
By Nikhilesh De
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 7:14 a.m. Published Dec 8, 2017, 3:01 a.m.
Regulators in South Korea have reportedly banned the trade of futures contracts and other derivatives tied to bitcoin.
According to a Dec. 6 report from the Korea Herald, directives from the country's Financial Services Commission led securities firms such as eBest Investment & Securities and Shinhan Financial Investment to cancel seminars marketed towards bitcoin futures investors. Those seminars were reportedly set to take place early next week.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Investments in derivatives developed by foreign exchanges are also banned, the newspaper further said Wednesday.
The reported ban comes less than two weeks after the Financial Supervisory Services's chief, Choe Heung-sik, said the regulator would not be regulating bitcoin trades, noting that the nation considers bitcoin as a speculative product rather than a currency or payment method.
It's also a notable development given the move by some exchanges in the U.S. to develop such products, including CME Group and CBOE. CBOE is expected to begin trading its bitcoin future on Sunday, with CME moving to officially tee off their own the week after.
CME chairman emeritus Leo Melamed previously argued launching futures contracts could help regulate bitcoin’s price, though some quarters of the industry have strongly pushed back against the concept.
In an open letter addressed to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and published yesterday, the FIA industry trade group expressed its members' concerns over the pending launches, as well as the process that led to their approval.
"A public discussion should have been had on whether a separate guarantee fund for this product was appropriate or whether exchanges put additional capital in front of the clearing member guarantee fund," wrote Walt Lukken, the group's chief executive.
South Korea image via Shutterstock
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
XRP's 9% surge leads crypto as bitcoin climbs to 6-week high near $95,000
Bakkt, Figure and Hut 8 were among numerous crypto-related stocks posting double-digit percentage gains.
What to know:
- Bitcoin jumped more than 3% on Monday to its highest level since mid-November, nearing the key $95,000 mark.
- XRP led the crypto rally with a 9% gain after breaking resistance on strong volume.
- It's a good start to 2026, but bitcoin isn't out of the woods yet, said one analyst.
Top Stories
