South Korea’s 18-Month Stablecoin Outflow Streak Hits $367M Amid Regulatory Delays

Woofun AI reports that a persistent capital drain has defined South Korea’s crypto landscape for 18 consecutive months, with June outflows reaching $367 million. This trend was highlighted by Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) data obtained through People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-wook.

June transaction volumes reveal a stark imbalance in cross-border flows. The five major domestic exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax — transferred 2.7 trillion won ($1.81 billion) offshore while receiving only 2.2 trillion won ($1.44 billion) from foreign platforms.

Structurally, these transfers are driven by demand for overseas derivatives, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), decentralized finance, and staking products unavailable domestically. This gap persists while the Digital Asset Basic Act lags, specifically regarding rules for won-pegged stablecoins.

Per Woofun AI, regulatory pressure is intensifying alongside these market shifts. On June 22, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) proposed extending Travel Rule reporting to transactions below 1 million won ($650) and targeting unregistered overseas exchanges to curb regulatory arbitrage.

The path forward remains obstructed by legislative fragmentation. Until interim licensing guidance and stablecoin regulations are finalized, investor protection and supervisory frameworks will struggle to contain cross-border crypto activity.