As of May, the stock price of ME2ON, a KOSDAQ-listed company, was below 1,900 won, but it has now surpassed 4,000 won. The stock price of Hecto Financial, which had been fluctuating around 13,000 won, has also exceeded 26,000 won. The stock price trends of ITCEN and Danal are similar. All of them have surged this month.
The commonality among these stocks is that they are categorized as stablecoin-related stocks in the stock market. While the Donald Trump administration in the United States is vigorously promoting stablecoin policy, President Lee Jae-myung has promised stablecoin issuance based on the won since his candidacy.
The rally of stablecoin-related stocks began in earnest right after President Lee appointed Kim Yong-beom, the head of the digital asset think tank Hashed Open Research, as policy director at the presidential office. Kim has repeatedly argued the necessity of a won-based stablecoin while serving as the head of Hashed Open Research. The ruling party proposed a basic digital asset law that includes stablecoin-related content on the 11th.
NH Investment & Securities predicts that if the won-based stablecoin becomes institutionalized, corporations will show movements such as ▲ issuing stablecoins ▲ developing services based on stablecoins ▲ introducing stablecoins into corporate operations. Hong Sung-wook, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, noted, "According to the example of US Circle's listing, domestic companies will first focus on issuing stablecoins, and later, companies developing payment and financial services based on stablecoins may attract attention."
Hong added, "The programmability of stablecoins (meaning that it is easy to develop stablecoin-based apps) could drive fintech activation, and general corporations will gradually adopt stablecoins for cost reduction and efficiency improvement."
However, the securities market's gaze does not stop here. There is a mood to find beneficiaries, keeping in mind that stablecoins will grow to be the core of government bonds demand. The US stablecoin bill (Genius Act) specifies that "authorized issuers are required to maintain reserve assets at a minimum of a 1:1 ratio based on the balance of stablecoin issuance." It specifically mentions that reserve assets can include US coins or currency, Central Bank deposits, and US government bonds maturing within 93 days.
Park Sang-hyun, a researcher at iM Securities, stated, "Already, USDT (Tether) and USDC (Circle) hold reserve assets totaling $126 billion (about 173 trillion won) in US government bonds," adding, "Simply calculating, if the dollar-linked stablecoin market grows six to twelve times, the total US government bond holdings in the stablecoin market will also exceed $1 trillion (about 1,374 trillion won)."
Park added, "This will serve as an important foundation for US government bond demand, which is already losing credibility due to fiscal risks, while also becoming a driving force to maintain dollar dominance."
In this context, it can be interpreted that the stablecoin will contribute to President Lee Jae-myung's expansive fiscal policy aimed at supporting people's livelihoods in Korea. In a situation where the business climate for corporations is challenging, securing finances solely through tax policy has clear limitations. Ultimately, the government must consider issuing government bonds, and at this time, stablecoin issuers can play the role of a demand source for government bonds.
A financial investment industry official noted, "In this trend of seeking out beneficiaries for stablecoins, one can shift their focus not only to stocks linked to stablecoin ecosystems but also to sectors that can benefit from expansive fiscal policies."