$BTC
Buying coins as easily as buying groceries:
Lee Jae-myung wants to allow South Koreans to openly buy "virtual currency funds" (spot ETFs). Previously, the barriers and risks of trading coins were high, but now anyone who can buy stock funds can invest in virtual currency, allowing ordinary citizens to join the "coin trading" scene.
Retirement funds should also enter the crypto circle:
South Korea has a substantial national pension fund, approximately $884 billion, equivalent to several trillion yuan. Lee Jae-myung plans to invest this money in cryptocurrency as well. With such a large sum being injected, the crypto market is sure to be activated, directly affecting coin prices.
Competing for the "business" of dollars:
Currently, more than half of South Koreans trading coins use stablecoins in dollars (like USDT). In the first quarter of 2025, the trading volume of these dollar stablecoins reached 57 trillion won.
A significant amount of South Korean capital flows abroad through dollar stablecoins. Lee Jae-myung wants to launch South Korea's own stablecoin, backed by the won, to keep the money domestic and protect South Korea's "financial territory."
Can stablecoins really be done?
This new stablecoin plan was just announced.
Opponents are firing back with "old grievances": Remember Terra/Luna?
Back then, the so-called "stablecoin" pegged to the won suddenly collapsed, leaving hundreds of thousands of South Koreans with nothing. Opponents argue that Lee Jae-myung is "forgetting the pain after the wound has healed," risking national credit.
Supporters explain: This stablecoin is completely different from the previous scam coins! Legitimate stablecoins must be backed by real money or government bonds, every penny can be traced, and they can be redeemed at any time; they cannot be generalized.
South Koreans' enthusiasm for trading coins is already high; by the end of 2024, 9.7 million people will be trading coins under their real names, and by 2025, the trading volume of the crypto market will directly exceed that of the South Korean stock market. The government is delaying the collection of transaction taxes to reassure people about trading coins, while also implementing strict regulations requiring trading platforms to protect user funds to prevent further incidents of fraud or collapse.
If successful, South Korea might secure a place in the global crypto arena; but if it fails, the costs could be turmoil in the entire national financial system and losses for countless citizens. We can only wait and see how this gamble will ultimately turn out.