200 Trillion Won Spot Bitcoin ETF Remains Out of Reach... What Are the Alternatives? [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] Although the total assets under management (AUM) of Spot Bitcoin ETFs listed in the United States have reached the 200 trillion won mark, domestic investors are unable to access these products due to regulatory restrictions by financial authorities. As a result, thematic ETFs investing in blockchain and virtual asset-related companies are emerging as alternatives.
According to global virtual asset information platform BITBO on the 15th, the combined AUM of the 12 Spot Bitcoin ETFs listed on US stock exchanges amounts to $153 billion (approximately 217 trillion won). However, domestic investors cannot trade overseas-listed Spot Bitcoin ETFs. This is because the Financial Services Commission prohibits domestic securities firms and asset management companies from brokering or launching Spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Consequently, investors are seeking indirect investment methods. Notably, attention is shifting to ETFs that track Bitcoin futures prices traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), or those investing in blockchain and virtual asset-related companies.
Recently, as blockchain and virtual asset companies listed in the US have attracted attention, ETFs that include these stocks are also drawing interest. The Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) are prime examples.
According to Investing.com, BLOK and ARKF have risen by approximately 69% and 50%, respectively, since the beginning of this year.
As of the previous day's US market close, BLOK's AUM stood at $1.5684 billion. Its holdings include Cipher Mining Inc. (CIFR), Galaxy Digital (GLXY), CleanSpark Inc., Robinhood Markets Inc., and Coinbase.
ARKF's AUM is $1.3825 billion. Its portfolio includes Coinbase and Robinhood Markets Inc., as well as Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL), the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), and BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc., the world's largest corporate holder of Ethereum (ETH).
These ETFs count Coinbase, a virtual asset exchange; Robinhood Markets Inc., which has expanded its services to tokenized US stock trading; and BitMine, a digital asset treasury (DAT) company, among their top holdings. Analysts expect these funds to benefit from future growth in the virtual asset market.
Han Soo-jin, a researcher at Samsung Securities Co., Ltd., noted, "Since domestic investors cannot invest in spot-based virtual asset ETFs, they may consider alternatives such as blockchain and virtual asset-themed ETFs, as well as leveraged, inverse, and mixed-asset ETFs." In line with this, domestic investors have been active. According to the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), individual investors in Korea have purchased $208 million worth of the 'T-REX 2X Long BMNR Daily Target ETF' over the past month, making it the third most net-bought stock. This product is a leveraged ETF that tracks BitMine's daily stock performance at twice the rate.
elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter