South Korea's financial regulator on Friday said brokering U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may be illegal in local markets, in an official response to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of such ETFs.

"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 Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statement.

Several exchange-traded funds tied to the spot price of bitcoin began trading in the U.S. on Thursday in a landmark moment for the cryptocurrency industry that has been seeking regulatory approval for the financial product for over a decade.

South Korea's FSC added that it will continue to review the regulatory landscape around investment of spot bitcoin ETFs.

  - Reuters