Two-thirds of Surveyed South Koreans Say Cryptoassets Aren’t Securities

Over six in 10 South Koreans do not think cryptoassets are securities, a new opinion poll has found – although lawmakers may instead prefer to follow Washington’s lead in determining which coins to class as securities.

The survey was conducted by Cratos, the operator of a blockchain technology-based mobile app that rewards opinion poll participants with loyalty points – and reported by Fn News.

Over 4,100 South Koreans took part in the survey, which was carried out from August 12 to August 15. The firm stated that just over 34% stated that cryptoassets are “neither a security nor a commodity,” while almost 33% said they thought coins were commodities. 

Slightly over 23% replied that they thought cryptoassets were securities, while 9.6% said they did not know.

Perhaps surprisingly, around half of respondents aged 50 and above stated that crypto is neither a security nor a commodity,” while younger participants were more likely to opine that cryptoassets are securities.

The issue is something of a hot topic in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was elected on a pro-crypto manifesto earlier this year, has previously pledged to create a two-tier regulatory system for cryptoassets.

Yoon has stated that tokens that do not classify as securities will be covered by a brand-new crypto-specific act that he hopes to unveil before the National Assembly later this year. Those that classify as securities – and those that specifically market themselves as security tokens – will be subject to governance under the terms of the existing Capital Markets Act.

But South Korean policy is now being formulated with an eye on events taking place in Washington. Should American lawmakers decide that most tokens should be regulated by the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) – rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)– Seoul will likely follow suit.

Lawmakers in Seoul have repeatedly expressed their intention to “streamline” their crypto policies with those now being formulated in the United States and Europe.

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