South Korea Central Bank Won’t Oppose Stablecoin: Report

At the end of December, the Bank of Korea had forex reserves worth $415.6 billion, which dropped to $404.6 billion at the end of May, a decrease of $11 billion in six months, according to data from the Bank of Korea.

Friendly regulatory environment

On June 10, President Lees ruling Democratic Party put forward the Digital Asset Basic Act, which would allow companies with a minimum equity capital of $368,000 to issue stablecoins.

The companies would need to keep sufficient reserves to ensure refunds, and they will need approval from the countrys financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission.

The FSC is probing local South Korean exchanges over the transaction fees they charge, which is also part of Lees promise to lower the transaction costs to encourage young traders.

Non-US dollar-backed stablecoin

US dollar-backed tokens dominate the stablecoin space, with the largest being Tether (USDT) with a market capitalization of $156 billion, followed by Circles USDC (USDC) with a market capitalization of $61 billion, according to DefiLlama.

However, Circles euro-pegged stablecoin, EURC, is gaining traction as its market capitalization has shot up to $203 million, an increase of 156% from the start of the year.

Circles stock saw big gains on Wednesday after US lawmakers signalled that they would approve the stablecoin-regulation GENIUS Act in the House.