Trump push drives stablecoin urgency in Asian financial hubs

Asian markets are hurriedly updating their stablecoin rules as President Donald Trump's embrace of US dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies instils a fresh sense of urgency among the region's authorities.

Recent developments in South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines point to a proliferation of stablecoins pegged to Asian currencies - even as authorities raise concerns about capital outflows. Regional heavyweights like JD.com and Ant Group plan to capitalise by applying to become issuers. Shares in Kakaopay ballooned on expectations that it would do the same.

Even China, which has for years imposed a sweeping crypto ban, appears to be warming to the notion of tokens that serve as yuan surrogates.

It all stems from the US, where lawmakers recently passed legislation that will promote wider use of digital tokens that seek to maintain a 1:1 peg with the dollar. The White House earmarked dollar stablecoins as a priority in a Jan executive order, days after Trump's inauguration.

"The Genius Act has opened the floodgates for stablecoin adoption," said Benjamin Grolimund, general manager for the UAE at crypto exchange Flipster. "Whether you support it or not, stablecoins are now unavoidable."

Overhanging Asia's flurry of activity is the fear of capital flight. The dollar reigns supreme in today's stablecoin market, with $256 billion in tokens pegged to the greenback. These maintain their price by managing reserves of cash-like assets, such as US Treasuries. By contrast, there's just $403 million of euro-backed stablecoins in circulation, despite a well established regulatory framework covering such products in the form of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation regime.

The crypto-curious nation of South Korea offers a case-in-point. Koreans are already piling into dollar-pegged stablecoins. Transactions involving USDT, USDC and USDS - three of the largest dollar proxies - on five domestic exchanges reached 57 trillion won ($41 billion) in the first quarter, Yonhap News reported, citing Bank of Korea.

While China's next steps are far from certain, crypto firms including brokers are already preparing for the prospect of yuan-pegged stablecoins. Kennix Chan, VP at Victory Securities, said the firm is in active talks with a range of would-be issuers in Hong Kong.

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