South Korea’s five largest won-based cryptocurrency exchanges recorded a net outflow of 560.3 billion won, equivalent to approximately $367 million, in stablecoins to overseas platforms during June 2026. The movement extended an unbroken series of monthly net outflows that has now lasted 18 months.

Data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service and provided to National Assembly member Lee Jong-wook showed that Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax collectively transferred 2.7625 trillion won in stablecoins to foreign exchanges in June. In the same period they received 2.2022 trillion won back from overseas platforms, producing the net outflow figure.

Outflow Trend Remains Steady Across Months

The June total marked an increase from the 477.1 billion won net outflow recorded in May. It remained well below the peak of 1.1429 trillion won seen in January 2025, the first month of the available data series. Every subsequent month has shown net withdrawals exceeding inflows.

Over the second quarter of 2026, cumulative net stablecoin outflows reached 1.6872 trillion won. During the same three months, Korean retail investors posted 1.6185 trillion won in net sales of overseas stocks, according to figures from the Korea Securities Depository.

In June alone, net purchases of overseas stocks totaled about $472.54 million, or roughly 722 billion won at the average exchange rate for the month. The stablecoin net outflow represented 77.6 percent of that amount. The parallel movements do not establish that the same investors drove both flows.

Uses Linked to Products Unavailable Domestically

Officials indicated that the stablecoins leaving Korean platforms are believed to support activity on overseas venues. These include cryptocurrency and equity derivatives, tokenized real-world assets, decentralized finance protocols and staking services that domestic exchanges do not offer.

Some foreign platforms provide leveraged products tied to major Korean equities such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Hyundai Motor, as well as cryptocurrency futures. The supervisory data capture only transfers between exchanges and do not track the ultimate destination or use of each transfer.

Domestic trading conditions have softened in parallel. Aggregate trading volume on the five major won exchanges declined 54.6 percent year over year in the first half of 2026. Lower local activity supplies context for the outward transfers without proving a direct causal link.

Regulatory Response Still Taking Shape

Lee urged authorities to accelerate investor-protection measures and to reassess the existing framework for cross-border activity. He noted the growing volume of funds moving offshore into higher-risk products.

South Korean regulators have been preparing broader digital-asset legislation. The Financial Services Commission has discussed exchange internal controls, security requirements, compensation obligations and possible rules for stablecoin issuers. A consolidated Digital Asset Basic Act covering stablecoins, exchanges, disclosures and operational standards remains under development, with key provisions still subject to further consultation.

The next monthly data release will indicate whether the outflow streak continued into July. Officials face the task of distinguishing routine cross-border transfers from those connected to leveraged trading and other elevated-risk services while the legislative process advances.