South Korea moves to legalize stablecoins with new crypto bill

South Korea’s ruling party under new president Lee Jae-myung is pushing legislation to allow local stablecoin issuance and boost crypto market growth.

South Korea’s newly elected president Lee Jae-myung is fast-tracking his campaign promise to allow the issuance of domestic stablecoins, as his party has moved forward with a crypto bill.

Lee’s ruling Democratic Party proposed the Digital Asset Basic Act on Tuesday, aimed at improving transparency and encouraging crypto sector competition, Bloomberg reported.

The bill stipulates that local companies can issue stablecoins with a minimum equity capital of 500 million won ($368,000). They must also guarantee refunds through reserves and get regulatory approval from the Financial Services Commission, the country’s finance regulator.