South Korea Reports 14.92 Trillion Won in Stablecoin Outflows
Net transfers from five domestic exchanges to overseas platforms stayed negative for 18 months through June 2026 as stablecoin legislation remains unfinished.
Stablecoin transfers from five South Korean crypto exchanges to overseas platforms produced a 14.92 trillion-won net outflow over 18 months through June 2026, underscoring unresolved rules for digital-asset payments.
The outflow reached 2.7625 trillion won in June. The exchanges were Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax.
The figures measure movements between domestic and overseas exchanges. They do not establish that the funds permanently left South Korea or that the transfers were caused by the absence of a won-backed stablecoin.
The share of active users on the five exchanges also declined to 19.5% at the end of June from 35.7% in January 2025. The measure covers identity-verified customers who traded, exchanged or staked digital assets during the period.
South Korea’s National Assembly approved amended securities-token legislation in January 2026. The law is scheduled to take effect Feb. 4, 2027, moving the country’s tokenization framework toward implementation.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) places stablecoin-linked payments in the final phase of its tokenization plans. That phase could include on-chain payment infrastructure linked to stablecoins, but the proposal depends in part on pending stablecoin legislation.
The structure of that legislation has not been finalized. The pending rules would shape how South Korea develops its digital-asset market, including the legal framework for stablecoin-related payments.
The exchange outflows and declining active-user ratio highlight the scale of offshore crypto activity, while the securities-token law sets a separate timetable for regulated tokenization. The next concrete milestone is the law’s scheduled effective date on Feb. 4, 2027.
