Bank of Korea links stablecoins to weaker currencies

• A Bank of Korea study found stablecoin buying pressure was linked to weaker local currencies.
• Binance fiat pairings cut local stablecoin premiums by 0.33 to 0.38 percentage points.
• The findings could matter more if Korea opens its crypto market to more companies and foreign investors.

The Bank of Korea has linked dollar-backed stablecoin demand to weaker local currencies after Binance added direct fiat trading pairs.

Researchers Jihyun Kim and Sangheum Cho studied 12 currencies using data from 2019 to 2025.

They found stablecoin premiums fell by 0.33 to 0.38 percentage points after Binance added fiat-stablecoin pairs.

The study found market makers may sell local currency and buy dollars to balance stablecoin positions.

The effect was not significant in Korea because Binance has no direct won-stablecoin pair, the study found.

Won purchases of stablecoins reached $64 billion in the year through June 2025, according to Chainalysis data cited by CoinDesk.

The researchers said deeper foreign-exchange liquidity could help markets absorb shocks if stablecoin and currency markets become more closely linked.