South Korea's 18-Month Stablecoin Exodus Deepens With $367M June Outflow

South Korea logged $367 million in net stablecoin outflows

South Korea's five largest won-based crypto exchanges recorded a net 560.3 billion won, about $367 million, in stablecoin outflows to overseas platforms in June 2026. The data came from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), was submitted to People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-wook, and was reported by the Yonhap News Agency on 2 August 2026. Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax sent 2.7625 trillion won ($1.81 billion) in stablecoins abroad during the month. They received 2.2022 trillion won ($1.44 billion) back from overseas exchanges. The net figure captures the difference between stablecoins leaving the five exchanges and those returning during June.

June extended an unbroken 18-month offshore streak

The June figure marked the 18th consecutive month of net stablecoin outflows from the country. The streak began in January 2025, when the FSS data series started. June's net outflow rose from 477.1 billion won in May but stayed below January's 1.1429 trillion won. Between April and June, net stablecoin outflows reached 1.6872 trillion won. The monthly totals fluctuated sharply, yet deposits from abroad never exceeded withdrawals across the entire span. Across the full 18-month run, cumulative net outflows reached about $10.4 billion, based on the same FSS series reported by Yonhap.

Traders sought products unavailable on domestic exchanges

Market participants attributed the transfers to demand for products restricted or unavailable on Korean exchanges, according to Yonhap. These reportedly include overseas derivatives, tokenised real-world assets (RWAs), decentralised finance (DeFi) and staking products. Korean retail investors also recorded 1.6185 trillion won in net sales of overseas stocks over the same quarter, based on Korea Securities Depository figures cited by Yonhap. In June alone, net stablecoin outflows equalled roughly 77.6% of Korean investors' net overseas stock purchases, which the report placed near 722 billion won for the month. The data does not show that the two flows involved the same investors.

Stablecoin markets held steady during the outflows

The offshore transfers moved mainly through dollar-pegged stablecoins, which held their value during the period. Tether (USDT), the largest such token, traded at $1.00 with a market capitalisation near $183.2 billion at the time of publication (CoinPaprika, 3 August 2026). The steady peg indicates the outflows reflected where holders chose to trade, not a loss in token value.

A lawmaker urged stronger investor protection rules

Lee Jong-wook said the sustained outflows called for a fresh review of oversight. He linked the trend to investor protection and foreign exchange stability concerns. The FSS data he obtained covers the five domestic exchanges that report won-based trading volumes. The persistent gap has kept pressure on regulators to explain why funds keep moving offshore.

"The government must comprehensively examine its investor protection and supervisory frameworks again and move swiftly to improve regulations", 2 August 2026. — Lee Jong-wook, Lawmaker, People Power Party