Circle issues an additional 750 million USDC, pushes for the institutionalization of KRW stablecoin structures in South Korea

Circle issues another 750 million USDC tokens on April 15. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire is currently in South Korea on a packed schedule and, at the “Circle in Seoul” event, is meeting with major financial groups such as Shinhan Financial and KB Financial to discuss matters. South Korea’s stock market reacted positively to this series of news on April 14, and shares related to won stablecoins surged across the board.

Circle CEO’s Trip to South Korea: Comprehensive Plans for Traditional Finance and Crypto Exchanges

At the event, Allaire said the South Korean government is reviewing digital-asset-related regulations, a development that is encouraging, while also revealing that Circle is actively exploring ways to expand the number of cooperation partners. This trip covers both traditional financial institutions and crypto exchanges, resulting in a rare, all-around institutional layout.

A researcher from E*TRADE Securities pointed out that Circle’s visit this time may not only seek to expand the distribution scale of USDC, but could also kick off in-depth collaboration on infrastructure build-outs, including the Circle Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP). The analyst believes the catalytic effect of this visit could extend beyond the short-term trading layer.

The overall regulatory environment across Asia also provides a favorable backdrop: on April 10, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued its first stablecoin license, and Japan is also pushing to incorporate digital assets into the framework for institutional financial products.

South Korean Stocks Respond Strongly: Stablecoin-Related Shares Surge Across the Board

April 14: Gains of Key Won Stablecoin-Related Stocks

Satoshi Holdings：+29.94%，touched the daily upper limit

ITCEN NS：+16.61%

NHN KCP：+9.80%

Aton：+8.64%

Dream Security：+5.42%

Kakao Pay：+3.31%

Broad market reactions show that the impact of stablecoins in South Korea is not limited to the issuer itself, but deeply intersects with multiple industries, including payment infrastructure, identity authentication, settlement platforms, digital wallets, and exchanges.

Background of USDC’s Global Expansion: A Structural Shift That Passes USDT for the First Time

Circle’s South Korea strategy is an extension of the rising trend of institutional adoption of USDC. In February 2026, global stablecoin monthly trading volume hit a new all-time high of $1.8 trillion. USDC transfer volume surpassed the long-time dominant USDT for the first time. Analysts attribute this to institutional participants’ clear preference for compliant U.S. dollar infrastructure.

On the enterprise adoption side, Circle recently demonstrated USDC’s efficiency advantage: using USDC to complete cross-ledger settlement across 8 internal entities within 30 minutes, totaling $68 million. The same operation, via traditional bank wire transfers, would take 1 to 3 days—allowing Circle to complete about 90% of the company’s same-day internal settlement end to end.

Capital markets also look favorably on Circle’s outlook. Bernstein gave a “beats the market” rating, with a target price of $190. Circle’s 2025 revenue reached $2.7 billion, up 64% year over year. Institutions such as Tether, PayPal, and Stripe have also stepped up their stablecoin initiatives, and market competition continues to heat up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Circle choose to deepen its South Korea strategy right now?

South Korea has one of the world’s most active crypto user bases, and domestic regulatory reforms are accelerating—amendments to the “Electronic Securities Act” and the “Capital Markets Act” were passed in January this year, establishing an initial framework for a tokenized securities market. Discussions about introducing won stablecoins have already been clearly put on the policy agenda, providing a direct window for Circle’s institutional rollout.

What is the path for won stablecoins to roll out?

Analysts predict that South Korea’s tokenized financial system could develop into a multi-layer architecture: a central bank digital currency (CBDC) would carry the core settlement function; organizations that handle deposit tokens would manage inter-institution transactions; and stablecoins would serve as an expansion layer responsible for connecting platforms and external payments, rather than directly taking on the final settlement functions within financial institutions.

What does USDC surpassing USDT in transfer volume for the first time mean?

This shift indicates that the focus of the stablecoin market is moving from being primarily centered on decentralized exchange activity to being primarily driven by institutional demand for compliant U.S. dollar infrastructure. Analysts believe institutional participants prefer USDC mainly due to its relative advantages in regulatory compliance, transparency, audit mechanisms, and alignment with regulatory requirements.