JPYC price spike puts stablecoin liquidity under scrutiny
JPY Coin, or JPYC, climbed as high as 37.6 won after Upbit introduced trading on Sept. 17. The yen-linked stablecoin had a reference value close to 8.8 won at the time, placing the exchange price at more than four times that level.
Yonhap reported that JPYC began trading around 12 won before climbing above 37 won as buying demand met limited available supply. Upbit later expanded supported deposit networks beyond Ethereum to include Kaia and Polygon, allowing more JPYC to reach the exchange. The token returned toward the 8-won range the following day.
Before trading started, Upbit had cited a JPYC reference price of 8.81 won. The exchange initially planned to support Ethereum deposits and withdrawals when announcing the listing.
In related coverage, crypto.news reported that Upbit had delayed JPYC trading by three hours on Sept. 17 while keeping the $PYUSD schedule unchanged. The listing covered KRW, BTC and USDT markets. JPYC Upbit trading delayed three hours
PayPal USD experienced a smaller but still notable move on the same exchange. Upbit’s data shows $PYUSD reached an all-time high of 1,760 won on Sept. 17 before falling toward the 1,360-won area.
News1 attributed the move to constrained supply during the first stage of trading. Unlike JPYC, $PYUSD remained much closer to its dollar reference value, but the jump demonstrated how an exchange price can diverge when available sell-side liquidity is thin.
$EURC surge adds another example from Bithumb
A separate price distortion appeared in Circle’s euro-backed $EURC on Bithumb. $EURC reached 7,860 won shortly after midnight on Sept. 14, compared with the previous closing price of 1,513 won. The move represented an increase of more than 400%, while overseas prices remained close to the euro’s converted value.
Bithumb’s official records show $EURC had entered its won market on Aug. 28, not Sept. 14. The exchange listed the token with a reference price of 1,609 won and supported deposits and withdrawals through Ethereum.
The Sept. 14 move therefore occurred more than two weeks after the listing. Reports linked the spike to concentrated orders and shallow liquidity instead of a change in the euro backing the token. Approximately 60% of that day’s $EURC volume was executed within a 15-minute period, according to reporting based on Bithumb trading data.
USDG experienced another abnormal move during the same period, reaching 3,048 won on Bithumb against a previous close near 1,358 won. The repeated episodes have prompted calls from industry participants for stablecoin market rules to address exchange liquidity separately from issuer reserves.
Won stablecoin rules could cover liquidity and redemption
Current debate over won-denominated stablecoins has focused heavily on who can issue them, minimum capital requirements and the assets used to back outstanding tokens.
Industry participants cited by News1 want the framework to extend into secondary-market trading. Suggested measures include requiring sufficient initial circulating supply before exchange trading begins and maintaining issuance and redemption channels that can respond when market demand changes.
Some participants have proposed requiring market makers or liquidity providers to maintain continuous buy and sell quotations. Other proposals include displaying deviations from a stablecoin’s reference value and restricting certain market orders when prices move unusually far from the underlying currency.
An industry official quoted by News1 said a won-backed token could still experience sharp volatility if demand rises suddenly while circulating supply remains inadequate. The official called for standards covering issuance, redemption, liquidity provision and responses to unusual market conditions.
Reserve requirements address a different part of the structure. Assets held by an issuer can support redemption at the designated value, while exchange prices are determined by available bids, offers and the ability to move tokens between venues or redeem them with the issuer.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has not announced final rules covering those proposed liquidity safeguards. The regulator has repeatedly cautioned that major parts of the second-stage digital asset framework remain under discussion.
South Korea targets November review of digital asset law
Work on the legislation is continuing as regulators and lawmakers negotiate rules for stablecoins and other digital assets.
An FSC official said on Sept. 22 that the Digital Asset Framework Act is expected to reach a National Assembly bill review subcommittee in November. Ten digital asset and stablecoin proposals are currently pending, while policymakers continue discussing a consolidated framework.
As crypto.news previously reported, the planned legislation covers digital asset issuance and distribution, including stablecoins, with regulators seeking to advance the second-stage framework during 2026. South Korea targets November review for crypto legislation
One unresolved question concerns the companies allowed to issue won-denominated stablecoins. The Bank of Korea has supported an initial bank-led structure, citing monetary policy, payment-system and financial-stability concerns.
The FSC said earlier this year that reports claiming stablecoin issuer structures had already been finalized were premature. In January, the regulator said discussions with other agencies were continuing and that key provisions had not yet been settled.
Crypto.news reported in July that the central bank continued to favor bank-led consortiums while lawmakers discussed the pending framework. Bank of Korea defends bank-first stablecoin plan
By August, the FSC said work remained underway on a government proposal for the second-stage Digital Asset Act. The regulator again cautioned that specific provisions, including ownership rules affecting crypto exchanges, had not been finalized.
South Korea’s September securities-token roadmap provides another indication that stablecoin policy remains unfinished. The FSC said future on-chain payment infrastructure could eventually connect tokenized securities with stablecoins, but later implementation stages will depend partly on pending stablecoin legislation.
