South Korea’s stablecoin outflows hit $367 million in June as regulators weigh tighter offshore rules

South Korea recorded 560.3 billion won ($367 million) in stablecoin outflows to overseas exchanges in June, stretching its monthly net outflow streak to 18 consecutive months. For PSPs and crypto businesses, the detail that matters is where the flow is going: activity is being pulled offshore by products domestic venues do not offer, and regulators are now talking about tighter reporting and licensing around that cross-border traffic.

1. According to Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) data obtained by Yonhap News Agency through People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-wook, South Korea’s five major crypto exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — transferred 2.7 trillion won ($1.81 billion) in stablecoins offshore in June and received 2.2 trillion won ($1.44 billion) from foreign platforms.
2. That left the country with 560.3 billion won ($367 million) in net stablecoin outflows for the month, continuing 18 consecutive months of net outflows. In practice, that kind of streak is exactly the sort of data point regulators use when they start asking whether the domestic rulebook is keeping pace with where users are actually trading.
3. Market participants cited by Yonhap said the transfers were driven by demand for products restricted or unavailable on South Korean exchanges, including overseas derivatives, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), decentralized finance and staking products. For exchanges and PSPs, that is the business pressure point: if the local market does not clear those products, the volume tends to find a jurisdiction that will.
4. Lee Jong-wook called on the government to reassess investor protection and supervision of cross-border crypto activity as the outflows continue. “The government must comprehensively examine its investor protection and supervisory frameworks again and move swiftly to improve regulations,” he said, according to The Korea Times.
5. The outflows come as South Korea works on a broader legal framework for digital assets. On Thursday, a policy report recommended interim licensing guidance and a phased rollout of stablecoin regulations before the Digital Asset Basic Act is finalized. The proposed act would create the country’s first comprehensive digital asset framework, including rules for stablecoin issuance, disclosures and market activity, but lawmakers have not yet reconciled competing proposals over which institutions should be allowed to issue won-pegged stablecoins.

South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) also proposed on June 22 extending Travel Rule reporting requirements to transactions below 1 million won (about $650) and called for stronger action against unregistered overseas exchanges serving South Koreans. The agency said uneven licensing and supervision across jurisdictions creates room for regulatory arbitrage — which, given the continuing stablecoin outflows, is not exactly a theoretical concern.