South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax — collectively transferred approximately 56.8 trillion won ($40.4 billion) worth of digital assets overseas during the first quarter of 2025. A significant portion of these transactions involved stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, such as USDT and USDC, which accounted for 47.3% of the total outflows, equating to 26.87 trillion won ($19.1 billion).
The growing reliance on stablecoins reflects a broader trend in South Korea’s crypto sector, where traders increasingly utilize dollar-pegged assets to access foreign markets, including Binance and Bybit, which primarily operate using stablecoin trading pairs rather than the Korean won (KRW).
Despite the surge in outflows, South Korea also witnessed a massive inflow of stablecoins. Between January and March 2025, a staggering 64.78 trillion won ($46.1 billion) worth of cryptocurrencies entered domestic exchanges, with stablecoins accounting for 26.9 trillion won ($19.1 billion) of the inbound capital.
Stablecoins Gain Traction in South Korea Amid Regulatory Uncertainty
While South Korea has yet to implement comprehensive regulations for stablecoins, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is reportedly preparing to issue new guidelines aimed at enhancing oversight of digital asset transfers, particularly involving stablecoins.
This regulatory focus comes in the wake of the Terra stablecoin collapse, a South Korean-originated project that triggered significant market disruptions in 2022. In response, a consortium of leading South Korean banks, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, and Woori, has announced plans to launch a joint Korean stablecoin, marking a shift towards domestic digital currencies.
Meanwhile, the Trump family’s USD1 stablecoin, launched through World Liberty Financial, has rapidly gained traction, reaching a market capitalization of $2.12 billion and emerging as the world’s seventh-largest stablecoin in just two months.
