South Korea Crypto Scene Is About To Pop Regardless Who Wins the Election
BY
Ben Graham
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Crypto is not just an asset in South Korea; it is a way of life. With over 18 million people trading digital assets, volumes surpass those of the nation’s two major stock markets, the Kospi and Kosdaq. Crypto has become a political force.
And with South Korea standing in front of election week, there’s one guaranteed winner – crypto.
Election Outcome? Doesn’t Matter, Crypto Wins Either Way
Both presidential candidates, liberal Lee Jae-myung and conservative Kim Moon-soo, have gone full pro-crypto with their election policies. We are talking about less regulation and more access, and even proposing to legalize spot crypto ETFs.
Currently, South Koreans are holding over $74.5 billion in crypto. Which, by any measure it is not a small market.
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It feels like they are fighting over who will offer a better crypto policy. Lee’s calling for the nation’s $884 billion pension fund to get crypto exposure. Sick.
Imagine what this is going to do to crypto. ETFs backed up by public funds. This is most definitely a bull market fuel. What makes things even weirder is his opposition supports that too.
Bipartisan pro-crypto vibes are something unheard of.
All this set up South Korea’s crypto exposure to be one of the biggest in the world. However, not everything is pink between the candidates and the crypto space.
The Stablecoin Drama
Not every proposal receives love. Lee’s proposal for a won-pegged stablecoin is his plan to modernize finance in South Korea and stop capital bleeding out via USDT and USDC.
This makes sense when realizing that only in the first quarter of 2025, 56.81 trillion Won left Korean exchanges. Half of those have been through dollar-backed stablecoins.
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Meanwhile Bank of Korea did not like this plan. Governor Rhee Chang-yong believes central banks and not third parties should make stablecoin issuance. In his eyes, this can easily wreck monetary policy.
That just looks like a classical TradFi vs DeFi moment we have been seeing in the U.S.
Trump, Stablecoins, and Asia Response
On the other side, Trump’s already laying down the paperwork for US dollar stablecoin dominance and even calling them tools for defending America’s global edge.
With that pressure, Asian lawmakers are responding fast, and South Korea’s trying not to get left behind in this crypto thug of war.
While the Virtual Asset User Protection Act took effect in July 2024, things are still tense. That law introduced strict exchange oversight and even life sentences for crypto fraud.
Exchanges now need to protect users’ funds, have insurance-level security, and be ready to compensate users if a hack occurs.
As usual, Koreans are not playing around, especially after the $40 billion implosion of TerraUSD. Let’s not forget about Do Kwon, who was South Korean, and soon he will stand trial in the US for fraud.
Overall, South Korea is becoming a crypto powerhouse. Approaching with caution but also calculated, Korea will definitely win more crypto enthusiasts.
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Key Takeaways
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