The trading volume of dollar-based stablecoins is surging at domestic exchanges due to Donald Trump's pro-cryptocurrency policy. Although domestic exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb have over 16 million members, there are concerns that stablecoins are in a legal and institutional vacuum, which could negatively impact digital payment industries and won competitiveness. ★Related article on page 5
According to an analysis commissioned by Seoul Economic Newspaper to Cryptoquant on the 30th, the domestic trading volume of dollar-based stablecoins USDT and USDC listed on five major cryptocurrency exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax) reached 60.1019 trillion won from January to the 28th of this month. This is nearly 20 times the trading volume of 3.6773 trillion won during the same period last year. The trading proportion has also soared from around 1% at the beginning of last year to a maximum of 20% this year.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged 1:1 to legal tender like dollars. When you bring in one stablecoin, you receive one dollar. The market believes the demand for stablecoins is rapidly increasing due to reasons such as △strengthening US dollar dominance △fund transfer to overseas exchanges from domestic markets △minimizing transaction costs like exchange fees. Lee Jong-seop, a professor at Seoul National University's Business School, said, "The expansion of dollar-based stablecoins could lead to won weakness" and "The government is sitting idle instead of investigating domestic stablecoin demand and creating related legal frameworks".
- Reporter Shin Jung-seop
- jseop@sedaily.com
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