South Korea stablecoin outflows hit $10.4B, rivaling stock buys

The monthly flow has been accelerating. In June 2026 alone, ₩560.3 billion in stablecoins left the country, about $390 million. That single month represented 77.6% of the net overseas stock purchases made by domestic investors in the same month. Over the second quarter, stablecoin outflows of ₩1.69 trillion slightly exceeded the ₩1.62 trillion in net selling of overseas stocks by Korean investors.

The active user ratio across the five exchanges dropped to 19.5% at the end of June from 35.7% at the start of 2025. More than 400,000 KYC-verified users have stopped trading entirely since March 2026. Total virtual assets held by domestic investors have fallen 54.7% over the same period.

Lawmakers Lee Jong-wook and Min Byeong-deok have raised concerns about capital flight. Both have called for a won-pegged stablecoin as a potential remedy. If Korean investors had access to a domestic stablecoin denominated in won, with competitive products built on top, the incentive to move assets offshore would shrink, they argued.

South Korea moved quickly on crypto regulation when it perceived systemic risk. It introduced real-name account requirements for exchanges years before most Western regulators, and passed the Virtual Asset User Protection Act with little delay. The active user ratio drop to 19.5% from 35.7% in 18 months is a structural shift affecting exchange economics and market depth.