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Debate over the Clarity Act is set to continue regardless of the outcome of a Senate procedural vote on Sept. 15, Forbes reported on Sept. 11.
Cleave Mesidor, executive director of the Blockchain Foundation, told Forbes that discussions in Congress on advancing digital-asset market structure legislation will continue no matter how the Sept. 15 cloture vote on the Clarity Act turns out.
Mesidor also said the bill is unlikely to become law before the midterm elections even if it clears the procedural vote on Sept. 15. The House is scheduled to go into recess just days after the Senate vote on the Clarity Act, leaving little time for both chambers to complete action on the measure.
Still, legislative talks could gain momentum if the Senate secures the 60 votes needed for the procedural vote. The House Agriculture Committee and the House Financial Services Committee are watching the Senate negotiations, and a bipartisan compromise in the Senate could pave the way for swift action in the House.
She added that bipartisan consensus has already formed around the need for the Clarity Act to support growth in the U.S. digital finance industry. Negotiations on the legislation will continue.

Bitcoin has fallen despite forming a so-called golden cross, a widely watched bullish signal, in a sign the indicator does not guarantee short-term gains.
CoinDesk reported on September 11 that Bitcoin formed a golden cross earlier this week, but the price subsequently slipped to about $77,000 from $80,000. It said similar cases in the past often saw a substantial portion of the rally completed before the golden cross appeared, followed by a short-term pullback.
A golden cross occurs when the 50-day moving average, which reflects the short-term trend, rises above the 200-day moving average, which tracks the longer-term trend. It is generally interpreted as a bullish signal pointing to the start of a medium- to long-term uptrend.
But Bitcoin had already gained about 32% to $82,000 from $62,000 before the latest golden cross emerged. Although the signal formed earlier this week, the price was pushed back to around $77,000.
CoinDesk said a golden cross can be a bullish signal over the long term, but it is inherently a lagging indicator that reflects price moves after the fact. By the time the signal appears, much of the advance may already have taken place.

"Prediction markets are expanding the range of things that can be priced. In that they turn collective expectations into a real-time signal, they are closer to an information layer."
Leon Okun, chief executive officer of Plaee, made the remarks in an interview with Bloomingbit on Sept. 11. "The fundamental concept of prediction markets is not new," he said. Financial markets have long enabled investors to price uncertainty through a variety of hedging tools. What prediction markets add, he said, is a wider range of outcomes that can be priced.
Plaee is a business-to-business prediction-market infrastructure startup founded last year. It provides the infrastructure companies need to build their own prediction-market platforms. The company offers an integrated package spanning the front-end trading experience, back-office operations and compliance infrastructure. Okun said the turnkey service helps companies enter prediction markets quickly while retaining control over their brand, customers and revenue model.
Building services on top of an existing prediction-market platform can ultimately leave a company dependent on another operator's ecosystem, Okun said. In some cases, that could mean competing for the same market share. He added that incumbent platforms are primarily focused on expanding their own marketplaces, not helping clients build differentiated standalone businesses.
Regulatory Debate at Home and Abroad: 'It Must Be Built In From the Planning Stage'
Prediction markets have grown rapidly since last year, becoming a source of controversy in both South Korea and the US. According to CoinGecko, monthly global prediction-market notional volume climbed to $52.8 billion in June from $27.1 billion in January, nearly doubling in six months. Global notional volume for the second quarter surpassed $110 billion, the highest quarterly total on record.
Some US state governments, including those of Nevada and Michigan, argue prediction markets are closer to illegal gambling. Platforms including Kalshi are therefore continuing legal battles with some state governments in the US. In South Korea, the Korea Communications Standards Commission blocked domestic access to global prediction-market platform Polymarket last month.
Okun said the situation shows prediction-market regulation is not something companies can put off until later and should be incorporated from the planning stage. He added that as regulators' approach to prediction markets continues to evolve, he hopes the markets will eventually operate within regulatory frameworks in every market, including South Korea.
Okun's view is that prediction markets should be seen as a "peer-to-peer financial market." Participants are not betting against a house or bookmaker that sets the odds, he said. Instead, they trade directly with other investors through an exchange, with prices determined by the levels at which market participants are actually willing to buy and sell.
'The Next Three Years Will Be Interesting' as Plaee Prepares More Partnership Announcements
Plaee entered into a strategic partnership earlier this year with Crypto.com to minimize regulatory risk. Crypto.com was among the companies that moved quickly to secure a license to offer prediction markets under Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight, Okun said. Through the partnership, Plaee can help clients use prediction-market infrastructure that complies with CFTC rules and enter the market through a more streamlined process.
He projected global prediction-market volume will reach $1 trillion by 2030. The industry has grown at a striking pace, with monthly notional volume rising 130-fold over the past two years. Okun said the next three years will clearly be a very interesting period.
He added that Plaee plans to announce partnerships in the coming months with a variety of companies, including media, trading firms and financial-information platforms. Prediction markets are no longer a market that draws interest only from a specific type of operator, he said.

U.S. policy and regulatory figures
Ethereum and Tether representatives among attendees
Stablecoins and capital markets on-chain among topics
EastPoint: Seoul 2026, a private conference jointly hosted by the Korea Economic Daily, Hankyung Media Group’s digital-asset outlet Bloomingbit and global venture capital firm Hashed, will be held on September 28 at The Westin Seoul Parnas on Bongeunsa-ro in Seoul. Now in its second year, the event will bring together domestic and overseas companies, financial firms, government agencies and blockchain founders shaping the future of digital assets.
This year’s speakers include Chetan Karkhanis, senior vice president at Franklin Templeton, which manages about $1.8 trillion in assets, and Guy Wuollet, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm. Attendees from the U.S. policy and regulatory sphere will also include Harry Jung, a former deputy director of the White House digital-asset advisory council; Caroline Pham, former acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and now chief executive officer of MoonPay Institutional; and Utah state Senator Kirk Cullimore, the Republican majority leader in the state Senate.
Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, and Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer at Maelstrom, will also attend. Representatives from major global digital-asset companies including Tether, Circle, Coinbase, SBI Securities, Ripple and BitGo are also set to participate. From South Korea, Democratic Party lawmakers Ahn Do-geol and Min Byung-deok, along with Reform Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok, will attend.
The conference will focus on five topics: institutional investment, stablecoins, capital markets on-chain, AI agents and the use of blockchain in everyday life. It will combine a main stage with closed-door roundtables to discuss policy, investment and business partnerships.
Last year, 503 decision-makers from more than 200 institutions attended the event. More than 50 business meetings and about 40 roundtables were held. Hashed Chief Executive Officer Kim Seo-jun said building a regulatory framework is not the end of the discussion but the start of deciding what kind of market and infrastructure to build. He added that it is important for the groups leading policy, capital and technology to gather in one place and find ways to put plans into action.
Bloomingbit Chief Executive Officer Kim San-ha said this year’s event is focused on specific discussions about the challenges financial institutions and infrastructure companies face in the field. The gathering will give decision-makers from South Korea and abroad a venue to explore new financial-market structures and partnership opportunities.
Park Si-on, Korea Economic Daily reporter / Lee Young-min, Bloomingbit reporter ushire908@hankyung.com

Science Ministry Says It Will Improve Rules to Reflect Corporate Difficulties
Financial Regulator Says Ministries Need Common Definitions for Rules
South Korea’s government is reviewing ways to reduce regulatory uncertainty that it says is holding back growth in the blockchain industry. The Ministry of Science and ICT is studying related laws and systems based on difficulties raised by companies, while the Financial Services Commission says ministries need shared definitions and standards to prevent regulatory conflicts.
Park Ji-hyun, director general of digital society planning at the Ministry of Science and ICT, made the remarks at a National Assembly forum held on Sept. 11 at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building and hosted by the Korea Blockchain Industry Promotion Association. The event was titled “National Assembly Forum on Building Digital Trust Infrastructure and Promoting the Blockchain Industry in the AI Era.”
“We have heard many views that business is difficult because nothing is clearly defined and uncertainty remains,” Park said. “We are working to resolve that uncertainty.”
"Vague Standards, More Than Bans, Are the Real Obstacle"
Park said the problem facing the industry is not that blockchain businesses are uniformly banned. Rather, companies lack clear standards for using distributed ledgers and decentralized identity, or DID. Clarifying whether projects are allowed and which rules apply would help companies invest more steadily and develop services with greater confidence.
He also said the ministry is conducting research on legislation to promote digital assets that reflects corporate demand. The bill remains under discussion, he added, and the research results and industry feedback could be reflected in the legislative process.
Park also stressed that technological competitiveness must be secured in advance, separate from institutional reform. If companies wait until the digital-asset era is fully underway before stepping up research and development, it may be too late. The ministry is supporting blockchain in AI-related areas where the technology is needed.
He added that blockchain use is not limited to finance. Through non-R&D programs, the ministry is backing blockchain applications in DID, local currencies and public-sector services. The technology is also being used in ports and in agriculture and food, he said.
"Need Common Definitions to Prevent Regulatory Conflicts Across Ministries"
The Financial Services Commission said legal frameworks for blockchain need to be coordinated across ministries. While the science ministry is focused on reducing uncertainty in the field, the FSC is emphasizing the need for a consistent basic framework and sector-specific rules across the broader industry.
Seo Na-yoon, director of the Virtual Asset Division at the Financial Services Commission, pointed to the approach used for South Korea’s AI basic law, under which the lead ministry establishes the overall framework and relevant ministries coordinate the level of regulation in their respective areas.
“We will coordinate so that definitions do not diverge,” Seo said. “It appears the process will move forward by first establishing a common basic definition and then adding further rules.”
Seo also said existing regulations need to be reviewed if blockchain-AI converged services are to expand in finance. Three regulatory issues must be addressed for the use of AI agents in financial services: the use of personal and credit information and related consent procedures, network separation requirements, and rules governing individual financial sectors.
She added that regulators need to examine how far AI can use information and what kind of consent it must obtain under the financial sector’s strict data-protection rules. The FSC is also considering ways to make the framework more flexible, she said. Requirements separating internal and external networks could constrain services that connect multiple systems, making regulatory easing and sector-specific institutional reform necessary.

National Assembly forum on promoting the AI and blockchain industries
"Use blockchain to secure trust in AI data"
South Korean lawmakers said at a National Assembly forum that blockchain should be fostered as a core industrial technology, not treated solely as a regulatory target, to ensure data trust in the AI era.
The Korea Blockchain Industry Promotion Association held a forum on September 11 at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, titled "The AI Era: Building Digital Trust Infrastructure and Promoting the Blockchain Industry." Attendees included Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Woo-young and Hwang Jeong-a, along with independent lawmaker Choi Hyuk-jin.
The lawmakers said blockchain should be used to manage data provenance, content rights and transaction histories. They also called for an institutional framework to support automated payments by AI agents and protect personal information.
"Trust in data is the foundation for AI industry growth"
Kim Woo-young of the Democratic Party said South Korea should move beyond regulating virtual assets and also examine how blockchain technology can be applied and integrated with other industries.
He said verifying the source of data and content is becoming as important as improving AI performance. Defining accountability for decisions made and transactions executed by AI is also growing more important. He added that regulatory and institutional changes must follow if the technology's potential is to be translated into real business.
"Areas such as AI agents' identity and authority, responsibility in automated payment processes, and balancing public ledgers with personal-data protection require new standards," Kim said. "The government and the National Assembly should work together to design a new digital trust framework so field-level demonstration results lead to institutional improvement."
Hwang Jeong-a, also of the Democratic Party, said trust in data and content must be established first if the convergence of AI and blockchain is to develop into a new industry.
"Blockchain can be used not only to prevent data tampering and track usage history, but also to record rights and automate settlements," Hwang said. "The scope of discussion should expand from virtual assets to AI data trading, protection of content rights, payments by AI agents and real-world assets, or RWA."
She added that digital trust infrastructure is needed for technological potential to lead to a practical and sustainable industry. Hwang said she hoped the forum would serve as a starting point for discussions on new industries that could be created by the convergence of AI and blockchain.
AI safety and narrowing regional gaps also emerge as tasks
Choi said technological development and safety measures should advance in balance, taking into account the possibility that AI could be misused. He added that there should also be more specific discussion of the role blockchain can play in protecting personal information and strengthening security.
There were also calls to ensure that investment in digital infrastructure does not widen industrial disparities between the Seoul metropolitan area and other regions. The concern is that regional areas may provide the land and electricity needed for data centers without seeing sufficient benefits in job creation or business attraction.
Choi said policymakers should guard against a situation in which regions supply only electricity to data centers without gaining meaningful industrial growth. He said he has proposed a bill that would provide preferential treatment or incentives related to data use when public data centers and related companies set up operations in regional areas.
"It should not stop at bringing in a single data center," Choi said. "Related companies and industries should take root in the region together. Even as AI- and blockchain-based digital trust infrastructure is built, industrial policy and data policy should be linked so regional gaps do not widen."

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted net outflows for a third consecutive trading day.
Data from on-chain platform SoSoValue showed that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded total net outflows of $283 million on Sept. 10.
Among individual products, ARKB from Ark Invest and 21Shares posted the largest net outflow, with $164 million withdrawn. Morgan Stanley's MSBT, meanwhile, recorded net inflows of $3.9792 million.
Total net assets in U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $97.49 billion. That amounted to 6.28% of Bitcoin's total market capitalization, while cumulative net inflows since launch reached $55.168 billion.

The U.S. Senate is headed for its first major vote next week on the CLARITY Act, a market-structure bill for digital assets. Republicans have released an amendment, but the bill’s path remains uncertain as disagreements over ethics provisions persist.
Crypto in America reported on September 11 that the Senate is scheduled to hold a cloture vote on debate over the CLARITY Act at 2:15 p.m. on September 15. Cloture requires 60 votes. With at least two Republican senators poised to oppose the measure, supporters need at least nine Democratic votes.
The central sticking point is the ethics provision. Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego proposed a bipartisan compromise in July that would bar federally elected officials and judges from issuing or endorsing digital assets. It would also require them to divest related financial interests or place them in a blind trust. The White House has so far not responded to the proposal, either publicly or privately, the report said.
A Republican amendment released recently would refine provisions on decentralized finance, or DeFi, and expand credit unions’ authority to handle digital assets. But it left untouched the ethics provision that has faced pushback from Democrats and some Republicans.
A stablecoin compensation provision is another variable. The American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America are urging changes, saying that permitting interest-like rewards could drain deposits from community banks and curb their lending capacity. Republican Senators Jerry Moran and Josh Hawley have also indicated they could vote against the bill if the current language stays in place.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, by contrast, wants the Senate to move the bill forward first and continue negotiating the disputed provisions afterward. He warned that failure to advance the legislation could send a negative signal about the U.S.’s competitiveness in digital-asset regulation and its ability to combat crypto-related crime.
Even if the bill passes the Senate, more hurdles remain before it can become law this year. The House has canceled voting sessions for the final two weeks of September, and both chambers are set to recess in October. That makes it increasingly likely that House action on the Senate amendment will slip to the lame-duck session in November.

The Kospi traded lower early Friday as surging oil prices and rising US Treasury yields weighed on investor sentiment. Selling was concentrated in large semiconductor stocks, which are sensitive to interest rates.
As of 9:07 a.m. on September 11, Samsung Electronics was down 3.81% from the previous session at 258,750 won. SK Hynix fell 4.05% to 1,778,000 won. Other semiconductor-related shares also weakened, with Samsung Electronics preferred shares down 4.29% and SK Square off 4.93%.
Domestic equities came under pressure after both oil prices and US Treasury yields jumped overnight. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery rose 6.69% on September 10 to settle at $102.48 a barrel. Brent crude for November delivery gained 6.34% to $107.63 a barrel.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note climbed above 4.95% during trading, reaching its highest level since October 2023. At the same time, the US producer price index for August remained elevated, reviving the possibility of another benchmark interest-rate increase at the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Export data, however, remained firm. The Korea Customs Service said exports for September 1-10 totaled $35 billion, up 82.6% from a year earlier and the highest ever for the period.
Semiconductor exports surged 270.1% to $16.483 billion. Their share of total exports also widened to 47.1%, up 23.9 percentage points from a year earlier.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is moving to revise its rules to recognize blockchain ledgers as official records of securities ownership. The change could reshape the tokenized securities market by replacing a structure in which on-chain records and traditional shareholder registers are maintained in parallel.
CoinDesk reported on September 10 that the SEC last week unveiled a proposal to update transfer-agent rules that have been in place for about 50 years. If adopted, the changes would allow electronic databases, including blockchain ledgers, to qualify as the “master securityholder file,” the official ledger of securities ownership.
In today’s tokenized securities market, it is common to keep blockchain-based token ownership records separate from legally effective shareholder lists. That can lead to ownership disputes if the two sets of records diverge. In bankruptcy or insolvency, the resulting rights issues could become even more complex.
Joris Delanoue, chief executive officer of SEC-registered on-chain transfer agent Fairmint, said the master shareholder file was once a paper document and is now maintained as a database. In his view, the proposal recognizes that a blockchain is not just a copy of an existing database, but can itself be the official record.
Eli Cohen, chief legal officer at fund-tokenization firm Centrifuge, said the proposal could consolidate the existing dual-ledger structure into a single process. He said the current setup is not only inefficient, but could also create substantial confusion in the event of a bankruptcy or insolvency.
Recognition of blockchain as an official ledger would not eliminate existing rules for tokenized securities. Requirements covering investor identity checks, holding eligibility and transfer restrictions would remain in place. The related controls could be built into tokens or smart contracts.
The role of transfer agents would also remain intact. Some procedures, including the handling of a shareholder’s death or inheritance, legal notices and mail receipt, would still need to be carried out directly by a transfer agent. Delanoue added that anyone maintaining an official ownership record must have the full functions of a transfer agent.
The SEC plans to collect public comments on the proposal for 60 days. The deadline for submissions is set for early November.

10-year yield tops 4.9%, nears 5%
30-year yield hits 5.35%, sets fresh high
PPI beats estimates as oil rises
ECB rate hike adds to pressure
"August CPI to drive rate decision"
Long-term U.S. Treasury yields are surging as investors confront inflation risks from rising crude prices, the European Central Bank's rate increase and U.S. producer prices that came in above market expectations. Interest-rate futures now imply a 71.8% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise rates on September 16. Markets are also watching the August consumer price index, due on September 11, as a decisive factor in the Fed's rate decision.
According to Bloomberg, the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield reached 5.35% on September 10, the highest since June 2007, when it stood at 5.44%. The benchmark 10-year yield also climbed above 4.9%, its highest level since October 2023, bringing it closer to 5%.
BMO Capital said expectations are resurfacing that the 10-year Treasury yield will return to the 5.0% level. A temporary move above 5% would not be much of a surprise, it added.
The immediate catalyst for the rise in long-dated yields was the August producer price index released by the U.S. Labor Department that day. PPI rose 5.4% from a year earlier, slightly above the market consensus of 5.3%. The July increase was 4.8%.
Inflation concerns tied to higher oil prices also added momentum to the rise in bond yields. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October West Texas Intermediate futures traded up 4.19% from the previous settlement at $100.07 a barrel. On ICE Futures Europe in London, November Brent crude futures stood at $105.03 a barrel on September 11. The gains came amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran and growing concern that Houthi rebels could block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The ECB's rate hike, along with its signal that further increases remain possible, added another source of upward pressure on U.S. Treasury yields. U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to give Americans $5,000 if Republicans win the midterm elections also stoked concern over a wider fiscal deficit and higher inflation.
CME FedWatch data show the market is pricing in a 71.8% chance of a Fed rate hike in September. That is more than 10 percentage points higher than a day earlier.
The August CPI, a key variable in the Fed's rate decision, will be released on the morning of September 11. The index measures changes in prices paid by consumers for goods and services. Markets are particularly focused on how much core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased.
Hwang Jeong-su, New York correspondent, Korea Economic Daily, hjs@hankyung.com

The U.S. consumer price index for August is due Sept. 11, and the result could influence the Federal Open Market Committee’s rate decision next week.
Walter Bloomberg reported on Sept. 10 that August CPI is forecast to rise 0.4% from the previous month, accelerating from 0.1% in July. Core CPI is projected to increase 0.2% on the month. From a year earlier, headline CPI is expected to rise 3.4% and core CPI 2.4%.
The faster increase in headline inflation is likely to be driven by energy prices. Energy prices are projected to rebound about 2.5% in August after falling 1.5% in July, while airfare and lodging costs could also add upward pressure. By contrast, gains in medical costs and used-car prices are expected to slow, and apparel prices are forecast to decline.
If core CPI rises 0.3% from the prior month, the odds of a 25-basis-point Fed rate increase could increase. A 0.2% reading would likely leave uncertainty over the rate decision intact. If it comes in at 0.1%, expectations for a pause could strengthen. The federal funds futures market is currently pricing in about 15.5 basis points of additional tightening by next week and about 37 basis points by year-end.

Economist Peter Schiff criticized President Donald Trump, saying Trump had promised $5,000 to every US adult if Republicans win the midterm elections.
Cointelegraph reported on September 10 that Schiff characterized the proposal as an attempt to win voters' support.
Schiff said Trump had effectively pledged to pay $5,000 to every US adult on the condition that Republicans prevail in the midterms.
He described the cash-payment pledge as an attempt to "buy votes."

U.S. prediction-market platform Kalshi has launched perpetual futures tied to gold and silver prices.
CNBC reported on September 10 that Kalshi recently received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to list gold and silver perpetual futures and began trading the products the same day. Kalshi had applied to the CFTC in July for approval to launch the contracts.
Udesh Jha, chief risk officer at KalshiClear, Kalshi's clearinghouse, said the company selected gold and silver for its next perpetual futures product because of strong investor demand for the metals. "Precious metals, especially gold and silver, offer a compelling investment case related to inflation," Jha said.
That demand had already shown up in Kalshi's commodity-related prediction market contracts. Cumulative trading volume in commodity-based prediction contracts tied to metals and crude oil topped $400 million within seven months of launch. That was about half the time it took crypto-based prediction market contracts to reach the same volume.
Kalshi began offering crypto perpetual futures in the U.S. after securing CFTC approval for the products in May. The company said cumulative notional trading volume in crypto perpetual futures has reached $44 billion.
Separately, Kalshi applied in August for approval to launch perpetual futures based on U.S. stock indexes, copper and foreign exchange.

South Korea needs to move quickly to overhaul rules for digital-asset exchange-traded products, or ETPs, and on-chain products to stay competitive as new financial instruments emerge rapidly in global markets, speakers at a parliamentary seminar said. Lawmakers said they shared that view and would push to pass the Digital Asset Framework Act by year-end.
A National Assembly seminar titled “Digital Asset Financial Innovation Cases and Response Strategies” was held on Sept. 10 at Post Tower in Seoul’s Yeouido district. The event was hosted by Ahn Do-geol, floor vice leader of the Democratic Party, and Democratic Party lawmaker Min Byung-duk, and organized by the Korea Fintech Industry Association.
Digital-Asset Industry Left Pacing Amid Regulatory Vacuum
Kim Hyo-bong, a lawyer at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, said the biggest problem in South Korea now is regulatory uncertainty. Neither securities firms nor digital-asset businesses have clear standards on which licenses would allow them to provide the services they want to offer, he said.
Kim said the US is rapidly expanding not only digital-asset exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, but also products that combine traditional financial instruments with blockchain. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has recently become more innovation-friendly, including by rolling out crypto regulatory proposals, he said. In the US, regulators listen to issues raised by the industry, provide feedback and clarify rules.
Speakers also called for infrastructure to support the launch of products such as ETFs backed by digital assets. Lim Seung-jin, a research fellow at FnGuide, said South Korea needs both a legal basis and infrastructure to support operations and investor protection if it wants to introduce digital-asset ETFs. He said the country should start with simpler spot ETFs, verify that pricing and creation-redemption systems operate reliably, and then expand in stages to multi-asset and staking products.
They also said South Korea has been unable even to attempt fast-growing on-chain finance businesses because of the regulatory gap. Bok Jin-sol, research lead at Populus, said a new asset-management market centered on on-chain vaults is expanding quickly overseas, but in South Korea it is not even clear how such services should be classified as a financial product or business. On-chain vaults are blockchain-based asset-management services that manage users’ digital assets through smart contracts.
Bok added that the existing regulatory framework alone is not enough to accommodate new services. South Korea needs an institutional foundation that allows related businesses to be tested and developed.
Min Byung-duk: Framework Act to Enter Full Review From November
Lawmakers also said South Korea’s efforts to institutionalize digital assets have failed to keep pace with changes in global markets and pledged to speed up legislation. Min said he felt sorry that domestic lawmaking had lagged while new products were being planned globally. Rather than waiting for a perfect law, South Korea should move quickly with one that scores 70 to 80 out of 100, he said.
Min in particular stressed that the Digital Asset Framework Act should be handled within the year. A public hearing will be held as early as this month, and after the National Assembly’s annual audit ends, lawmakers will begin handling the bill in earnest around November, he said. As the market continues to evolve, the priority is to establish an institutional framework first and improve shortcomings later. He also urged the industry to present proposals the broader sector can accept, rather than focusing on individual interests.
Ahn also said the institutionalization of digital assets and related financial products can no longer be postponed. While major countries are moving to take the lead in financial markets tied to digital assets, South Korea remains in a policy vacuum, he said. Domestic investors’ money is flowing to overseas or non-regulated markets beyond the protection of South Korean law, while innovative local companies are losing growth opportunities.
‘No More Time to Spare’: Call Grows for Swift Passage
The discussion session that followed also identified swift enactment of the Digital Asset Framework Act as the most urgent task.
Oh Jong-wook, chief executive officer of Wavebridge, said even a 70-to-80-point version of the law needs to be enacted so the industry can debate, revise and help shape enforcement decrees afterward. Even so, having a law in place would help the market far more than continued delay.
Kim Nam-woong, chief executive officer of Populus, said US ETFs were not perfect from the start either, and the current market was built through continued regulatory revisions. South Korea, he said, should begin first and keep making changes rather than fixating on a perfect law.
Speakers also called for broader use of regulatory sandboxes in the digital-asset market. Kim said authorities should allow limited real-world testing and continued data-sharing so supervisors can identify risks. He added that South Korea should consider including the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information, the Digital Asset User Protection Act and the planned Digital Asset Framework Act within the scope of regulatory sandbox programs.

Parts, Materials Stocks Including TSE Surge
Samsung, SK Hynix Buybacks Help Cushion Losses
South Korea’s benchmark stock market was expected to swing sharply as quadruple witching coincided with large-scale ETF rebalancing, but the Kospi still managed to hold above 7,000. The Kosdaq ended higher as some semiconductor parts, materials and equipment stocks, including Jusung Engineering and TSE, posted sharp gains.
The Kospi closed down 0.25% at 7,033.92 on September 10. The index fell as low as 6,898.45 at one point, but cut its losses in afternoon trading and defended the 7,000 level. Foreign investors were net sellers of 2.7504 trillion won ($1.99 billion), while retail investors and institutions were net buyers of 1.0931 trillion won ($792 million) and 3.6 billion won ($2.6 million), respectively. Other corporations were net buyers of 1.6496 trillion won ($1.19 billion). Retail investors turned net buyers for the first time in six trading days, while institutions extended their net-buying streak to six sessions.
Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics fell 0.19% and SK Hynix lost 0.16%. Both shares recouped most of their intraday declines after falling more than 2% earlier in the session.
The securities industry had expected steeper declines in the two chipmakers on September 10 as stock index futures and options expired on the so-called quadruple witching day, while large-scale ETF rebalancing took place ahead of a regular reshuffle of KRX sector indexes. In the KRX Semiconductor Index, SK Hynix’s weighting had risen to the 36% range, while Samsung Electronics’ had climbed to the 22% range. Because the regular reshuffle caps each constituent at 20%, the market had expected heavy mechanical selling as the two stocks’ weightings were reduced. Buybacks by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, however, helped other corporations support the market’s downside.
Oil refining and shipping stocks also helped defend the index. As geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated and Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel, buying poured into Korea Petroleum, which jumped 10.30%, and Heung-A Shipping, which gained 8.01%.
The Kosdaq closed up 0.79% at 836.92. The advance was driven by sharp gains in semiconductor parts, materials and equipment stocks centered on Jusung Engineering and TSE, whose weightings in the KRX Semiconductor Index increased. Jusung Engineering rose 7.02% and TSE soared 14.15%. TES, newly added to the index that day, also edged up 0.39%. Among major Kosdaq stocks, EcoPro BM climbed 3.31%, Simmtech added 0.98% and Fadu advanced 6.59%, helping lift the index. By contrast, other parts, materials and equipment names including Wonik IPS, down 1.08%, and EO Technics, off 3.19%, fell.
Oh Hyun-ah, Hankyung.com reporter 5hyun@hankyung.com

Commodity Rally May Continue for Now
The risk is rising that the seven-month war between the US and Iran will become a prolonged conflict. Some White House officials see it lasting until early 2029, at the end of President Donald Trump’s term. That is also fueling views that commodity prices will remain strong unless the global economy falls into recession.
The Wall Street Journal reported on September 9, citing people familiar with the matter, that senior White House aides have said privately that the war with Iran could continue throughout Trump’s presidency. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among those who discussed the war with Trump in the Oval Office and the Situation Room, taking into account the possibility that Iran would continue to resist.
Those discussions also covered a scenario in which the war lasts until January 2029, when Trump’s term ends. The private talks took place even as Trump has insisted the war would end as soon as the November midterm elections are over.
Trump had previously said the war would end soon. But the Journal said the private acknowledgment by some of the president’s closest aides that the military conflict could last for years undercuts his public assurances.
The Pentagon has also begun preparing for the possibility of a long war. The Journal reported that the Defense Department plans to extend the deployment of some air-defense units in the Middle East without a fixed end date. Officials are also preparing to send the III Marine Expeditionary Force to the region this fall. Air Force fighter squadrons in the Middle East are shifting from time-limited temporary deployments to rotational deployments designed to maintain a steady level of forces.
Iran’s leadership is also preparing for a prolonged conflict. A senior Iranian official told Bloomberg that the country is bracing for a more intense war. Iran’s leaders view a war with the US as a threat to the country’s survival and believe they have no choice but to keep fighting even if the economic pain worsens.
Han Myeong-hyeon, Hankyung.com reporter wise@hankyung.com

Ahn Do-geol, floor vice leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said South Korea should no longer delay putting digital assets and related financial products on a formal regulatory footing. His remarks suggest growing pressure to speed up legislation to bolster the competitiveness of the country’s digital-asset industry.
Ahn made the comments in a congratulatory address at a National Assembly seminar titled “Cases of Digital-Asset Financial Innovation and Response Strategies,” held on September 10 at Post Tower in Seoul’s Yeouido district. The event was co-hosted by Ahn and lawmaker Min Byung-deok.
Alongside a basic law on digital assets, South Korea needs to build an ecosystem that allows stablecoins to circulate and trade in the market, he said.
Ahn highlighted the rapid growth of new financial products that use digital assets as underlying assets. Digital assets are moving beyond simple trading and are being absorbed into the heart of global capital markets through traditional financial wrappers such as exchange-traded products, or ETPs, and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, he said.
Major markets including the US, the UK and Hong Kong already allow financial products tied to spot and futures digital assets, he said. Japan is also nearing the introduction of spot digital-asset ETFs after revising its Financial Instruments and Exchange Act in July.
By contrast, South Korea still faces a regulatory vacuum around such products, Ahn said. In a market where borderless transactions move freely through global financial networks, leaving the sector unattended because of that gap is clearly producing side effects, he said.
Domestic investors’ funds are flowing to overseas markets or markets outside the regulatory system, where they are not protected by South Korean law. Innovative South Korean companies that could lead the future digital-asset ecosystem are also losing growth opportunities, while the global competitiveness of the country’s financial industry is weakening.
Institutionalizing digital assets and financial products based on them can no longer be postponed, he added.
Ahn also stressed the importance of stablecoins in preparing for the age of artificial intelligence. Rapid change in the AI era will require financial and payment infrastructure to support it, and stablecoins will play that role, he said.
Still, he said bringing digital-asset financial products into the regulatory framework does not mean unconditional deregulation. South Korea needs a carefully calibrated system that takes into account high price volatility, wider pricing gaps caused by the time mismatch between the 24-hour digital-asset market and traditional securities markets, and on-chain risks such as hard forks, he said.
He added that he would work toward a balanced framework.

Net outflows continued from U.S. spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
According to Trader T, U.S. spot-Bitcoin ETFs recorded combined net outflows of $120.24 million on September 9. That marked a second straight trading day of net withdrawals.
Among individual products, Ark Invest's ARKB posted the largest net outflow at $77.98 million. BlackRock's IBIT also saw $19.53 million leave the fund.
By contrast, Morgan Stanley's MSBT recorded net inflows of $4.49 million. The remaining products saw no net inflows or outflows.