Research & speeches

Bank of Korea: USD stablecoin demand could start moving the won

3 September 2026APACSource: Bank of Korea

A BOK Issue Note published on 3 September 2026 finds that after Binance introduced fiat–USD stablecoin trading pairs, stablecoin premia fell and buying pressure was associated with depreciation of the paired local currencies.
In Korea, where no such Binance pair is available, net buying pressure shows up mainly in higher stablecoin premia with no significant effect on the exchange rate.
The authors say these linkages could strengthen as corporations and foreign investors enter Korea's digital asset market, and that digital asset regulation should be considered together with won internationalisation and deeper FX market liquidity.

Why it matters

For Korean banks' FX and treasury desks, the study flags that opening the domestic digital asset market to corporations and foreign investors could turn USD stablecoin demand into actual won FX flows, a channel to monitor alongside the planned won stablecoin rules.

Read the original: Bank of Korea ↗

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More detail

Who is affected

Korean FX market participants, banks, corporations and foreign investors in Korea's digital asset market, and policymakers.

Key facts

Event: Research note
Jurisdiction: APAC
Source: Bank of Korea
Source tier: Tier 1 · Regulator / central bank

In the database

Institutions

Bank of Korea

How we verified this

The source says

“These findings suggest that linkages between USD stablecoin and FX markets could strengthen as Korea's digital asset market structure evolves, particularly with greater participation by corporations and foreign investors.”

“By contrast, in Korea, where no such Binance trading pair is available, net buying pressure is primarily reflected in higher stablecoin premia and has no significant effect on the exchange rate.”

“Accordingly, digital asset regulation should be considered together with efforts to promote the internationalization of the Korean won and deepen FX market liquidity to strengthen the market's capacity to absorb shocks.”

Verbatim from Bank of Korea, matched word for word against the live page on 31 October 2026.

Sources

PrimaryBank of Korea ↗2026-09-03T1Regulator

Evidence

Confidence: High Primary source (regulator / official record); quote string-matched against the live page.
Quote verified: 2026-10-31 20:01 UTC
Archived snapshot: SHA-256 084f3bd731e86acc… · fetched 2026-10-30
Source type: Primary Bank of Korea ↗

Change log (1)

2026-10-30 Published

Full evidence record · How we label confidence

AI-assisted: the summary and analysis were drafted with AI from the primary source and checked by the editors. AI-drafted from the primary source; quote string-matched against the live source page.

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