South Korean crypto and blockchain stocks are on the rise as the government races to legalise stablecoin issuance.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or KOSPI, the index of all common shares on the Korea Exchange, continues to slump, blockchain-related share prices are surging.
The KOSPI is down over 3% in the past five days. In the same time, crypto company Danal rose by 5%, with prices up as high as 7% on December 17.
Other notable gainers were TS Investment, with over 3% in the same period, Atinum Investment, which grew by over 2% and Nuon, which grew by over 1%.
The growth comes at a torrid time for South Korean tech shares, with even blue-chip stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix suffering this week.
Blockchain businesses’ stock rises come after two rough months for the crypto industry, with shares prices falling amid a crypto price slump and fears of further drops to come.
South Korea banned all forms of domestic coin issuance in early 2018. But the ruling Democratic Party wants to let banks and big tech companies issue won-pegged tokens.
The South Korean publication Money Today reported that securities experts think Danal will “benefit the most” from the legalisation of stablecoins. This optimism has “spurred investor sentiment,” the publication wrote, with the optimism dragging up related share prices.
Lee Chang-young, a researcher and analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea, said that when won-denominated stablecoins receive the green light, companies like Danal stand to benefit.
“As the crypto-powered payment system expands, Danal will benefit the most,” Lee said.
“Last year, Danal registered a patent related to offline payments using virtual currency,” the analyst said. “That will give it the most advantageous position among domestic payment companies when won stablecoins are legalised in South Korea.”
Danal is one of South Korea’s only Korea Exchange-listed blockchain startups, while the likes of TS Investment and Atinum Investment have made significant investments in crypto exchange operators and other blockchain specialists.
Atinum was notably an early investor in Dunamu, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange operator. The latter is hoping to complete a merger with the tech giant Naver next year, with a Naver stablecoin at the heart of the firms’ business plans.
South Korean lawmakers are determined to force through a stablecoin legalisation bill in the first few weeks of 2026, despite the reluctance of the Bank of Korea.
The newspaper Maeil Kyungjae reported that at a financial sector event on December 18 that brought together 300 financial services group chiefs — including the heads of the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, and the country’s biggest banks — “AI and stablecoins were clearly the two key topics for next year.”
