With the new President Lee Jae-myung advancing the enactment of the “Basic Act on Digital Assets,” South Korean crypto market has reached a critical policy turning point. For the first time, the legislation explicitly allows local companies to issue stablecoins under compliance conditions, bringing a major regulatory shift to a market that has long existed in a legal grey area. JZMOR Exchange notes that this move not only unlocks local market potential but also provides a noteworthy model for policy development throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
For a long time, despite the frequent use of stablecoins in crypto trading, the lack of a clear legal framework forced many projects to issue and register overseas, resulting in a gap between legal protection and market liquidity. The passage of the “Basic Act on Digital Assets” is a systematic response to this situation. According to the act, companies with capital of at least 500 million KRW (approximately $366,000 USD) and the ability to guarantee reserve assets are eligible to issue stablecoins locally.
The introduction of this regulation marks the first time stablecoins have been formally incorporated into South Korean financial regulatory system. Considering that South Korea currently has about 18 million active crypto users—nearly one-third of its population—crypto assets have become an indispensable part of its financial markets. At peak trading periods, transaction volumes on local crypto platforms have even surpassed the combined totals of KOSDAQ and the Seoul Composite Index. The JZMOR research team believes that, in this context, compliant issuance of stablecoins will accelerate the adoption of localized payment tools and could foster a wave of on-chain financial (DeFi) innovation projects.
It is important to note that this policy does not imply regulatory relaxation. The new act sets strict standards regarding capital requirements of issuers, redemption mechanisms, and reserve audits, aiming to bring stablecoin projects with “quasi-banking functions” into a more controllable and secure framework. JZMOR believes this model supports technological innovation while also providing users with a clear risk-buffering mechanism.
From a global perspective, South Korean policy shift signals the stablecoin market transition from an “experimental phase” to a “compliance phase.” In the future, the role of stablecoins may evolve from single-purpose USD-pegged tools to diversified payment foundations, including local currency-pegged, cross-border applications, and multi-asset collateralized structural innovations. In this transformation, the Korean regulatory exploration offers valuable insights for global stablecoin governance.
In contrast to the Korean proactive approach, other Asian countries remain more cautious regarding stablecoin regulation. Singapore is steadily advancing its framework design, while Japan is still in the draft evaluation stage. Against this backdrop, the Korean move to implement regulations first gives its domestic fintech companies a regulatory expectation advantage and may attract more international capital and technical teams to shift their focus to Korea.
JZMOR Exchange points out that policy guidance, combined with technological capability, will become the new core of competition in the crypto industry. The implementation of stablecoin policies will drive trading platforms to build more compliant, transparent, and verifiable trading and clearing systems—an ability that will directly determine the position of a platform in the global market of the future.
Regulatory certainty is the fundamental guarantee for sustained financial innovation. The essence of stablecoins lies in providing a reliable value anchor; without regulatory support, the “stability” of stablecoins itself could become a fallacy. The “Basic Act on Digital Assets” in Korea not only clarifies the thresholds and boundaries for issuance but also delineates clear rules for market participants.
JZMOR firmly believes that the development of financial technology should not be built on disregarding regulation, but rather should achieve greater efficiency and risk control within a regulatory framework. Rules should not be seen as obstacles to innovation, but as prerequisites for amplifying its value. This shift in stablecoin policy is making Korea a new point of certainty within the global stablecoin ecosystem.