South Korea's stablecoin outflow hits 18-month high

South Korea's five largest cryptocurrency exchanges had a net outflow of stablecoins of 560.3 billion won in June

In June 2026, South Korea's five largest cryptocurrency exchanges denominated in South Korea had a net outflow of stablecoins of 560.3 billion won (approximately US$367 million) to overseas platforms.

Overview of key points

As of June, South Korea has experienced a net outflow of stablecoins for 18 consecutive months, with the outflow reaching 560.3 billion won this month. During June, the total amount of stablecoins transferred overseas was 2.7625 trillion won, while the amount returned to the Korean Exchange was 2.2022 trillion won. According to reports, these funds were mainly used for overseas derivatives, real-world asset (RWA) products, decentralized finance (DeFi) and pledge services that are not available on the Korean Exchange.

The above data comes from information submitted by the Korea Financial Supervisory Authority (FSS) to National Power Party MP Lee Jong-wook and was reported by Yonhap News Agency on August 2. The five exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax sent 2.7625 trillion won in stablecoins overseas in June, while receiving 2.2022 trillion won from overseas exchanges.

South Korea's stablecoin outflow reached 560.3 billion won

The latest monthly data continues the uninterrupted net outflow trend since January 2025 (the beginning month of the data series). Since then, monthly withdrawals of stablecoins flowing to overseas exchanges have exceeded the amount of deposits returned to South Korea's five major exchanges. The net outflow in June was higher than the 477.1 billion won in May, but still lower than the 1.1429 trillion won in January. Monthly data shows that although the transfer amount fluctuates significantly, the trend of capital outflows continues.

The net outflow gap in the second quarter was equally significant. From April to June, the total net outflow of stablecoins reached 1.6872 trillion won. During the same period, net sales of overseas stocks by South Korean retail investors were 1.6185 trillion won (Data source: Korea Securities Depositary, quoted from Yonhap News Agency). In June alone, overseas stock purchases exceeded sales by US$472.54 million, or approximately 722 billion won based on the average exchange rate of the month. As a result, the net outflow of stablecoins is equivalent to 77.6% of the net purchase of overseas stocks by South Korean investors. However, this comparison does not prove that the two flows involve the same investors or strategies.

Overseas derivative demand may drive up stablecoin outflows

The report stated that the transferred stablecoins are "believed to be mainly used" in products that domestic exchanges cannot provide, including cryptocurrencies and equity derivatives, tokenized real-world assets, decentralized financial services and pledged products. Some overseas platforms offer futures and other leveraged products linked to cryptocurrencies and major South Korean stocks (such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Hyundai Motor). However, FSS data tracks transfers between exchanges rather than the final activity of each wallet. Therefore, the correlation with a specific product is only speculation and is not a definite conclusion on a transaction basis.

While capital outflows, domestic trading activity weakened. According to the cryptocurrency news website, in the first half of 2026, the trading volume of the five major Korean won exchanges fell by 54.6% year-on-year. Reduced domestic activity provides background for this phenomenon, but available data does not prove that this is the cause of capital outflows.

Investor protection pressures coexist with legislative delays

Lee Jong-wook called for accelerated protection measures, saying investors were "unprepared against high-risk derivatives on overseas exchanges." He asked the government to review its investor protection and management framework as more money flows overseas.

South Korea is already working on broader rules for digital assets. At the March 4 virtual assets committee meeting, the finance committee discussed the exchange's internal controls, security standards, strict compensation obligations and possible rules for stablecoin issuers. The Finance Committee said further consultations would be held before the legislation was advanced. However, specific details have not yet been determined. In January, the Financial Committee warned that key terms covering the issuer and ownership structure of stablecoins had not yet been finalized. Recently, the regulator told lawmakers that it plans to formulate a comprehensive Basic Law on Digital Assets, covering stablecoins, exchanges, information disclosure and operational controls.

Next month's exchange data will show whether July extended this net outflow trend to 19 months. Regulators may also be under pressure to distinguish between ordinary cross-border transfers and capital flows involving leveraged derivatives, DeFi and other high-risk services. Currently, the June data only records money transfers between South Korea and overseas exchanges and does not identify individual users, target platforms or final investments. Any policy response will depend on further regulatory review and progress in advancing the Basic Law on Digital Assets.