South Korea Sees Stablecoin Outflows as Equity Investment Surges

• The outflows signify the recent phase of a wider migration of Korean retail capital from crypto into equities.
• Investors’ deposits also slipped from around $86 billion in early March to about $74 billion after the mid-month currency move. 

Stablecoin balances from South Korea have slipped sharply since July even as stock inflows surge, highlighting a shift in where money is flowing. 

The overall amount of these so-called tokenized versions of fiat currencies held in wallets associated with South Korea’s 5 biggest crypto exchanges has jumped 55%, with on-chain data highlighting a sharp wave of outflows prompted by the won’s break past 1,500 per dollar in mid-March. 

Allium Labs data mentioned that tracing Ethereum and Tron wallets over Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX reveals that combined stablecoin holdings slipped from $575 million in July 2025 to around $188 million as of mid-March, with the slip surging as the won slipped to 16-year lows against the dollar. 

The outflows signify the recent phase of a wider migration of Korean retail capital from crypto into equities. But where that previous rotation was influenced mainly by narrative, with traders following AI-associated chipmakers as altcoin momentum faded, the recent expenditure appears associated with a particular FX trigger instead of a change in risk appetite. 

The Drastic Slip 

The government of South Korea has since amplified efforts to captivate capital into domestic markets via new policies like “repatriation” accounts that provide up to 100% capital gains tax exemptions for investors who sell overseas assets and reinvest locally. 

The shift is transparent in broking data. Investors’ deposits also slipped from around $86 billion in early March to about $74 billion after the mid-month currency move, suggesting that capital was being actively positioned into equities as stablecoin balances slipped. 

Deposits have since started to stabilise, indicating fresh inflows are refilling the pool of purchasing power. The participation of Korea has so far boosted market cycles, and the data now reveals capital is not sitting idle but being actively redeployed. 

Whether those flows may rely less on crypto narratives than on the sustainability of the equity rally of Korea. 

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