South Korea sees 18-month stablecoin outflow surge

South Korea recorded a net outflow of 560.3 billion won, approximately $367 million, in stablecoins to overseas platforms in June 2026, extending an uninterrupted 18-month streak of capital flight from its domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. The data, released by the Financial Supervisory Service on August 2, shows persistent movement of funds from the country's five major won-based exchanges-Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax-to foreign trading venues, a trend that now rivals the scale of South Korean investments in overseas stocks.

The June figures reveal that 2.7625 trillion won in stablecoins were sent abroad, while 2.2022 trillion won returned to domestic exchanges, resulting in the net outflow. This amount was equivalent to 77.6 percent of Korean investors' net purchases of overseas stocks in the same month, according to Korea Securities Depository figures. The trend diverged sharply in the second quarter of 2026, when net stablecoin outflows of 1.69 trillion won slightly exceeded the 1.62 trillion won in net sales recorded for overseas stocks during the same period.

Analysts and officials attribute the sustained outflows to Korean retail investors seeking access to...