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Korea Herald
15-06-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Won-based stablecoin plans gain ground under new president
Concerns remain over risks to monetary sovereignty, financial stability Stablecoins have become a major focus in financial circles, capturing the attention of commercial banks, fintech firms, central banks and lawmakers alike, as momentum builds for a version pegged to the Korean won. A stablecoin is a type of crypto asset linked to the value of another asset — typically a fiat currency like the US dollar or a commodity such as gold. Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, stablecoins aim to maintain a steady valuation, often by being pegged one-to-one and backed by equivalent reserves. With President Lee Jae-myung's new administration pledging to create a won-based stablecoin market, regulatory efforts are accelerating to bring digital assets into the traditional financial framework. Still, there has been pushback. The Bank of Korea and other institutions have flagged concerns that a domestic stablecoin could erode trust in sovereign currency and introduce new risks to financial stability. President Lee's promise of Korean won-based stablecoins reflects concern that rising demand for dollar-backed versions could lead to capital outflows. When Korean investors buy dollar-based stablecoins, such as tether or circle, they are betting big on the greenback, thereby strengthening the dollar's hegemony in the global digital asset market and weakening the won's status. According to the Bank of Korea, the total trading volume of dollar-pegged stablecoins on Korea's five major cryptocurrency exchanges -- Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone and Gopax -- reached 56.95 trillion won ($41.6 billion) in the first quarter of this year, marking a threefold increase from 17.06 trillion won in the third quarter of 2024. The appointment of Kim Yong-beom, former first vice finance minister and former head of the crypto think tank Hashed Open Research, as the president's top economic adviser has fueled speculation that Korea's crypto asset industry could soon gain policy traction. During his tenure at the think tank, Kim publicly asserted that 'a regulated Korean won-backed stablecoin could be controlled more precisely than fiat currency.' On Tuesday, Rep. Min Byoung-dug from the Democratic Party of Korea introduced the Digital Asset Framework Act, proposing to allow corporations, including non-banking entities, with a minimum capital of 500 million won ($360,000) to issue won-backed stablecoins. Riding this wave of optimism, shares of Kakao Pay, a fintech affiliate of the country's tech giant Kakao, have nearly doubled in just a week, buoyed by anticipation that it could play a major role in the won-backed stablecoin market. Local banks are rushing to lay the groundwork for stablecoins, competitively launching task forces and seeking tech partners, signaling a major shift in the nation's financial landscape. 'At this point, stablecoins are not yet a lucrative area for banks. But if the won-based stablecoin materializes, banks would, of course, want to play a pivotal role,' an official from a local commercial lender said. A threat to the BOK? Like its dollar-backed counterparts, which are backed by US government debt and money market funds, a won-based stablecoin would be guaranteed by short-term, low-risk Korean financial instruments if it were to follow the same model. While talk of won-pegged stablecoins has gained traction, the BOK remains wary as the new instrument could undermine the status of the country's fiat currency. "Allowing a non-banking institution to freely issue won-based stablecoins could seriously weaken the effects of monetary policy,' said BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong at a press conference held in May. If won-pegged stablecoins are established as a major means of payment in the domestic economy, this would undermine the central bank's ability to control monetary flows. "The issuance of stablecoins could increase the money supply and potentially affect the status of the won. It is necessary to approach the matter with caution,' an official from the BOK said. Another potential loophole lies in cross-border transactions, possibly threatening the country's financial stability. Individuals could convert won-based stablecoins into dollar-pegged stablecoins and transfer funds overseas, bypassing traditional financial channels that are subject to regulatory oversight for cross-border capital flows. While similar concerns exist with bitcoin, its transactions are more closely monitored under local regulatory frameworks, such as the "travel rule," which requires exchanges to verify senders' identities for international transfers over 1 million won.
Associated Press
10-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Upbit Lists Axelar's AXL Token in AXL/KRW Trading Pair
SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 10, 2025-- Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, announced the listing of AXL, the native token of Axelar Network, in an AXL/KRW trading pair, effective June 10, 2025. The listing is detailed in Upbit's official notice. In its opening hours, the AXL-KRW pair recorded trading volume of over $220 million, ranking as the third largest trading pair on Upbit by 24-hour volume, surpassing BTC/KRW and XRP/KRW pairs, per CoinGecko data. The AXL token supports Axelar's blockchain interoperability network, facilitating cross-chain communication and asset transfers. AXL is used for transaction fees and governance within the network, enabling developers to build applications that connect multiple blockchain ecosystems. About Axelar Axelar is a decentralized network and development platform securely connecting the world's blockchains and financial infrastructure. Its secure, programmable multichain product stack enables seamless interoperability across Web3—critical for the next wave of institutional-grade use cases. With backing from top-tier investors including Dragonfly, Polychain, Binance Labs and Coinbase Ventures, Axelar is enabling the next generation of financial infrastructure: from multichain stablecoins to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), built with security, compliance and enterprise scale in mind. Learn more at About Axelar Foundation Axelar Foundation is a nonprofit established to support the growth and adoption of the Axelar Network, a decentralized interoperability platform securely connecting the world's blockchains and financial infrastructure.. Learn more at View source version on CONTACT: Media Karla Vilhelem PR Director, MarketWaves [email protected] (754) 215-4315 KEYWORD: ASIA PACIFIC SOUTH KOREA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE NETWORKS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PHILANTHROPY BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY DIGITAL CASH MANAGEMENT/DIGITAL ASSETS SECURITY CRYPTOCURRENCY WEB3 FINANCE OTHER PHILANTHROPY SOURCE: Axelar Foundation Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/10/2025 05:12 PM/DISC: 06/10/2025 05:10 PM
Business Wire
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Upbit Lists Axelar's AXL Token in AXL/KRW Trading Pair
SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, announced the listing of AXL, the native token of Axelar Network, in an AXL/KRW trading pair, effective June 10, 2025. The listing is detailed in Upbit's official notice. In its opening hours, the AXL-KRW pair recorded trading volume of over $220 million, ranking as the third largest trading pair on Upbit by 24-hour volume, surpassing BTC/KRW and XRP/KRW pairs, per CoinGecko data. The AXL token supports Axelar's blockchain interoperability network, facilitating cross-chain communication and asset transfers. AXL is used for transaction fees and governance within the network, enabling developers to build applications that connect multiple blockchain ecosystems. About Axelar Axelar is a decentralized network and development platform securely connecting the world's blockchains and financial infrastructure. Its secure, programmable multichain product stack enables seamless interoperability across Web3—critical for the next wave of institutional-grade use cases. With backing from top-tier investors including Dragonfly, Polychain, Binance Labs and Coinbase Ventures, Axelar is enabling the next generation of financial infrastructure: from multichain stablecoins to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), built with security, compliance and enterprise scale in mind. Learn more at About Axelar Foundation Axelar Foundation is a nonprofit established to support the growth and adoption of the Axelar Network, a decentralized interoperability platform securely connecting the world's blockchains and financial infrastructure.. Learn more at
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI Crypto Livepeer Explodes 150% on Upbit Listing
The native token of Livepeer LPT, a decentralized artificial intelligence video processing protocol, soared on Friday to its strongest price in four months on exchange listing and other catalyst. The token advanced 150% over the past 24 hours, hitting a session high at $14.20, CoinDesk data shows. The surge defied a slump in the broader crypto market, with bitcoin BTC sliding 2% below $106,000 and the CoinDesk 20 Index declining 3.5% during the same period. Most artificial intelligence-linked tokens were down 5%-10%. The price action happened as popular Korean exchange Upbit introduced trading with the token against KRW and Tether's USDT on its platform earlier on Friday. Joel Kruger, a crypto market strategist, highlighted that asset manager Grayscale introduced earlier this week its Artificial Intelligence Crypto Sector, with Livepeer being included among the 20 cryptocurrencies. Ecosystem developer Livepeer Foundation's advisory boards also kicked into gear, starting a community survey about the platform's strategic direction, he pointed out.
Korea Herald
22-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Bitcoin surges to new high; kimchi premium remains modest
Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, reached a record high of $110,000, backed by growing industry optimism, Thursday. Trading denominated in the South Korean won neared its peak as well, hovering at around 150 million won ($108,700) as of press time. Regulatory developments in the US stoked industry optimism that the country will shortly agree on its first regulations for digital assets, boosting investor sentiment for the cryptocurrency. According to global price-tracking platform CoinMarketCap, the price of bitcoin surpassed $110,000, reaching an industry milestone. As of 2 p.m., it traded at $111,461, marking a 3.7 percent gain from 24 hours earlier. Cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea operate in a relatively isolated environment from the global trading market, as they are restricted to trading exclusively in Korean won. Bitcoin traded above 154 million won as of 2 p.m. on the nation's largest crypto exchange Upbit. It traded similarly on Bithumb, the second-largest crypto exchange here. The crypto previously peaked at roughly 160 million won on the local market in March, before it inched down to as low as the 110 million won range on April 7, as risk aversion grew with the US tariff policy creating market uncertainty. With the surge in global trading prices of bitcoin, the 'kimchi premium' — the price gap between the cryptocurrency's value in Korea and international markets — fluctuated at below 1 percent, meaning trading prices in Korea were around 1 percent more expensive than globally. Though the price gap remains relatively stable compared to when it was pushed to nearly 10 percent in February, experts pointed out that it has widened in recent days with gains in the Korean won. Theoretically, the kimchi premium strengthens when the won gains value. 'The price discrepancy has widened from minus 1 percent to plus 1 percent, meaning the kimchi premium has strengthened,' said Kim Min-seung, head of research at Korbit, one of Korea's top five cryptocurrency exchanges. 'But there are various factors impacting the kimchi premium. It does not always move in accordance with currency fluctuation. We cannot pinpoint a single reason that drives up or weakens the phenomenon."
