South Korea's Stablecoin Exodus Hits $10.4 Billion

The South Korean crypto market is experiencing significant outflows of stablecoins, with net withdrawals totaling $10.4 billion over an 18-month period from January 2025 to June 2026.

This figure rivals the country's total overseas stock investments during the same time frame, raising concerns among policymakers and regulators about capital flight.

The data comes from South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, which tracks activity on five major crypto exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax. The pattern of stablecoin outflows is consistent, with Korean won being converted into dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT or USDC, before being moved offshore to access higher leverage and financial products not available on domestic exchanges.

In June 2026 alone, the outflow hit ₩560.3 billion, which works out to roughly $390 million in a single month, representing 77.6% of net overseas stock purchases made by domestic investors during the same period.