Economy - The Korea Times

ContributionStablecoin moment: Why the won is about to reshape digital finance in Asia

In early 2026, reports emerged that Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) was preparing corporate digital asset investment guidelines that would exclude dollar-denominated stablecoins like USDT and USDC from the approved list. The FSC has since indicated that the framework remains under discussion, but the regulatory direction is unmistakable. Seoul is signalling that the future of digital payments in Korea will run on Korean rails. This was not a defensive move. It was a strategic one. For those of us who have spent years tracking stablecoin adoption across Asia, it marks the moment Korea shifted from being a speculative crypto market to becoming, potentially, the most important proving ground for national currency stablecoins in the world. Real stablecoin story is in Asia The global conversation about stablecoins remains disproportionately focused on the United States. Congressional debates over USDC regulation and Tether reserve composition dominates headlines. But the actual usage data tells a different story. Asia accounts for roughly 60 percent of real stablecoin payment volum

Apr 14, 2026By Andrei Grachev

Stablecoin moment: Why the won is about to reshape digital finance in Asia

Circle CEO rules out won-based stablecoin issuance, instead seeks local partnerships

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said Monday the U.S. stablecoin firm has no plans to issue a Korean won-based stablecoin, instead signaling a strategy focused on supporting local banks and fintech firms as they develop their own digital currencies. "I don't believe Circle would issue a Korean won stablecoin," Allaire said during a press conference in Seoul, when asked about the possibility, noting that such efforts would likely be led by a consortium of Korean banks, fintechs and digital asset companies. "However, we have built some of the most important and successful technology in the world for stablecoin operations that can be used to make them work across these blockchain networks," he added. "So we may find ways to partner with Korean won issuers, and to be supportive of these emerging consortiums as they look to build Korean digital currencies." Circle is the issuer of USDC, one of the world's largest stablecoins, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar. Allaire's visit to Seoul comes as the New York-based firm steps up efforts to expand partnerships in Korea. The CEO said the company is open t

Apr 13, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin

Circle CEO rules out won-based stablecoin issuance, instead seeks local partnerships

BOK calls for introduction of circuit breakers for crypto exchanges

The central bank on Monday called for the introduction of mechanisms similar to the bourse operator's circuit breakers for cryptocurrency exchanges, citing the absence of such systems as a key factor behind a recent erroneous payment incident. In February, Bithumb attempted to distribute bitcoin worth about 620,000 won ($460) as prizes for a customer event, but accidently ended up distributing 620,000 bitcoins worth about 60 trillion won due to an employee input error. Immediately after the incident, some users sold off the wrongly credited bitcoins in large volumes, causing bitcoin prices on Bithumb to plunge temporarily. Other users suffered losses due to panic selling and automatic sell orders, while some bitcoin-backed loans were forcibly liquidated. "The primary cause was the lack of internal control systems designed to prevent such operational risks," the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in its annual payment and settlement report. "Compared to traditional financial institutions, the crypto asset industry has weaker internal controls and lower regulatory standards." At the time of the inci

Apr 13, 2026By Yonhap

BOK calls for introduction of circuit breakers for crypto exchanges

Crypto businesses in Korea turn to foreigners as strategic detour

HONG KONG — Companies in Korea are turning to foreign nationals to launch new crypto ventures as legislation for the Digital Asset Basic Act remains delayed, seeking to secure early partnerships and infrastructure amid a legal vacuum, analysts said. Hana Financial Group is among those moving in this direction. In partnership with Circle and Crypto.com, the group said on March 5 that it is piloting stablecoin-based payments for foreign visitors in Korea. The initiative, led by its card unit Hana Card, allows overseas users to make purchases at local merchants using cards linked to stablecoins. Transactions are settled in USDC, Circle’s dollar-pegged token, with foreign holders of Crypto.com's Visa cards receiving 5 percent cashback at participating stores. “Through this initiative, we seek to confirm the growth potential of stablecoins as a payment tool while expanding cooperation with global digital asset operators,” Hana said in a statement. Payment firm Danal also plans to launch a similar service this month in partnership with Circle and Binance Pay, enabling Binance users vis

Apr 7, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Crypto businesses in Korea turn to foreigners as strategic detour

Bithumb pushes for CEO reappointment despite bitcoin glitch fallout

Bithumb is pressing ahead with plans to renew CEO Lee Jae-won’s term despite a string of controversies, including an erroneous bitcoin distribution incident last month, industry officials said Sunday. The country’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange was already hit with heavy sanctions by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission, including a six-month partial suspension of operations and a 36.8 billion won ($24 million) fine for breaches of anti-money laundering rules. The measures also included a reprimand warning for the CEO and a six-month suspension for the reporting officer. In addition to these penalties, Bithumb is still awaiting the outcome of an inspection into its order book sharing with an overseas platform. Meanwhile, a separate probe by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) into the erroneous bitcoin payout case is nearing completion, raising the prospect of further sanctions and intensifying scrutiny over management. According to industry sources, Bithumb will convene its regular shareholders’ meeting on March 31, where a pr

Mar 22, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Bithumb pushes for CEO reappointment despite bitcoin glitch fallout

InterviewUnlocking utility for world's biggest meme coin

HONG KONG — Macroeconomic headwinds are weighing on cryptocurrency prices, while rising institutional participation has tempered volatility and cooled speculation. As a result, a growing share of digital assets now sits idle on centralized exchanges. Dogecoin — the poster child of the global meme coin market — is no exception. Roughly $23 billion worth of the token currently sits on exchanges worldwide, largely unmoved. Even without a clear incentive, the coin featuring the iconic sideways-glancing Shiba Inu dog has garnered widespread attention thanks to its roots in internet meme culture and the enthusiasm of its online community, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk. According to CoinMarketCap, its market capitalization stood at $14.11 billion as of Thursday. Jordan Jefferson, founder and CEO of DogeOS, said dogecoin’s true value lies in its strong community, but he finds it problematic that users have not been benefiting from the billions of dollars in dogecoin trading volume. "Dogecoin is so big as a cryptocurrency, and it has such a passionate group of people using it and believin

Mar 17, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Unlocking utility for world's biggest meme coin

Bithumb fined $24.8 mil., faces 6-month biz suspension over anti-money laundering lapses

The country's anti-money laundering agency said Monday that it has decided to fine Bithumb, one of Korea's crypto exchanges, some 37 billion won ($24.8 million) and impose a six-month partial business suspension over lapses in customer verification obligations and transactions with unregistered partners. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), under the Financial Services Commission said Bithumb did not comply with its obligations to verify the identities of users in about 6.59 million cases. The crypto exchange is also found to have supported some 45,000 transactions with 18 unregistered exchanges overseas. The FIU said Bithumb's chief executive officer will receive an official reprimand. The FIU will give Bithumb 10 days to submit its opinion before finalizing the fine. Cryptocurrency exchanges here are obligated to verify customer identities through real-name accounts linked to domestic banking partners, and should report transactions exceeding a specific amount.

Mar 16, 2026By Yonhap

Bithumb fined $24.8 mil., faces 6-month biz suspension over anti-money laundering lapses

InterviewSygnum points to banks’ role in evolving digital asset landscape

HONG KONG — There was a time when people relied heavily on cryptocurrency exchanges to handle nearly all their crypto activities. The industry was new, and few platforms — especially in traditional finance — offered similar services. Many questioned why banks were needed at all, when dealing directly with exchanges was often cheaper and less cumbersome. But the collapse of FTX in 2022 changed that perception, said Gerald Goh, co-founder and Asia-Pacific CEO of Sygnum, the world’s first regulated digital asset bank. “FTX made it very clear to everyone that there are significant counterparty risks when you deal with unregulated service providers,” Goh told The Korea Times in a recent interview. “Right now, you don’t hear anyone advertising that they are unregulated. Everyone is saying they have a license somewhere. That’s a big change,” he added. Founded in 2017 with dual headquarters in Switzerland and Singapore, Sygnum provides crypto services including trading, custody, lending, tokenization and asset management. The company serves more than 2,200 clients, primarily

Mar 11, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Sygnum points to banks’ role in evolving digital asset landscape

InterviewPushing for more women in male-dominated crypto industry

HONG KONG — Vivien Khoo left Goldman Sachs in 2019 after a 19-year career at the global investment bank. She felt she was too young to retire, yet too old to spend another two decades doing the same job. So she stepped down from her managing director role and made an unexpected move. She became interim CEO and global chief operating officer of BitMEX, a cryptocurrency exchange that was grappling with a series of regulatory challenges at the time. Recalling the decision in a recent interview with The Korea Times, Khoo said she wishes she could claim she had long been passionate about blockchain technology and instinctively believed in crypto’s future. But that was not the case. Instead, Khoo believed her long career in compliance and regulation made her a strong fit for the role. If she could successfully navigate the transition, she thought she might build a long-term career in the industry. What struck her most, however, was the isolation. Unlike her years at Goldman Sachs, she found herself with few peers to turn to for advice. She was one of the few women in leadership in the crypt

Mar 8, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Pushing for more women in male-dominated crypto industry

Will gov't push ahead with crypto exchange ownership cap despite constitutional concerns?

Attention is focusing on the fate of the government’s plan to cap major shareholders’ stakes in virtual asset exchanges at 20 percent after the National Assembly’s research body warned that the measure may be unconstitutional, lawmakers and industry officials said Thursday. A policy consultation between the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), originally scheduled for Thursday morning to finalize the proposed regulation, was postponed. Authorities said the delay was intended to allow financial authorities to prioritize market stabilization efforts as volatility in local equity and currency markets surged amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. The session had been expected to finalize a comprehensive bill that would impose a 20 percent ceiling on major shareholders of virtual asset exchanges and introduce a regulatory framework for stablecoins under the tentatively titled Digital Asset Basic Act. The FSC, the country’s top financial regulator, has maintained that exchange ownership should be capped at 15 to 20 percent, mirrorin

Mar 6, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Cryptocurrency