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A South Korean sovereign wealth investment fund has “indirectly” bought shares in the listed American crypto exchange giant Coinbase<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 although it has since distanced itself from crypto-related interests.<\/p>\n Per<\/a> Yonhap, the move was made by the Korea Investment Corporation<\/strong> (KIC), a sovereign wealth fund established by the government back in 2005. It was charged at its inception with \u201cenhancing\u201d the nation\u2019s long-term \u201cpurchasing power\u201d by investing public funds in international financial markets.<\/p>\n And due to the fact that Coinbase went public on the Nasdaq<\/strong> stock exchange in spring 2021 \u2013 and the fact that mainstream financial advisors have earmarked it as a company to watch \u2013 the South Korean government now, in theory, owns an (estimated) USD 1.9m chunk of it.<\/p>\n Yonhap explained that in November last year, the index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International<\/strong> included Coinbase shares on one of its popular tracker indices. The KCI invests public funds in this tracker, and \u2013 subsequently \u2013 Coinbase shares were \u201cautomatically included\u201d in the sovereign wealth fund\u2019s portfolio.<\/p>\n As such, the South Korean state has now picked up 8,700 shares in the American crypto firm.<\/p>\n However, crypto regulation is something of a sensitive issue in South Korea. After many years of tight regulation, which has resulted in an initial coin offering (ICO) blanket ban, the virtual elimination of anonymous trading and stringent crypto exchange policing, the two leading candidates in next month\u2019s presidential elections have hinted at a more business- and crypto-friendly approach to the sector.<\/p>\n Regardless, the crypto situation is very much in flux and shrouded in controversy in South Korea \u2013 and the KIC was quick to distance itself from crypto-related matters.<\/p>\n A KIC official was quoted as saying that the fund did not consider cryptoassets to be a suitable form of investment for a fund of its nature, and called its move an \u201cindirect and barely significant investment\u201d in \u201ca cryptocurrency exchange, not in cryptocurrencies.\u201d<\/p>\n Cryptonews.com<\/i> has contacted the KIC with a request for further comment. – Coinbase Pulls Buying Instructions for Three Coins Amid Rug Pull Warnings<\/a>
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Learn more:<\/strong>\u00a0
– South Korean Crypto Exchanges See Rise in Complaints, More People Turn to Home Mining<\/a>
– South Korean Presidential Candidates Pledge Lower Taxes for Crypto Traders, End to ICO Ban<\/a><\/p>\n
– Major Geographic Shift in Crypto Use Exposed by Trading Volumes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n