According to cryptocurrency data provider CoinMarketCap, JPYC trading on Upbit accounted for 54.18% of total global spot volume over the 24 hours through 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 21. That means one of every two JPYC tokens traded worldwide changed hands in Korea.
JPYC trading volume has surged since its Sept. 17 listing on Upbit. On Sept. 16, the day before the listing, global JPYC turnover was just $64,571 (about 89.34 million won), but by Sept. 19 it had swelled to $32,485,395 — a roughly 503-fold increase in three days. Even on the Sept. 20 holiday, $9,770,501 was traded. Average volume over the past three days stands at about $18.19 million.
JPYC is Japan's first yen-pegged stablecoin, with its value tied one-to-one to the yen. Issuance began in October last year.
At this pace, analysts say an expansion of JPYC's share of the domestic market is only a matter of time. The coin can now be easily purchased on Upbit, and holders using the "Unifi" wallet within the Line messenger app can earn 2% annual interest paid daily. Payments at affiliated hospitals in Korea also qualify for cashback of up to 15%.
Hwang Seok-jin, a professor at Dongguk University's Graduate School of Information Security, said, "The fact that more than half of JPYC trading occurs on domestic exchanges means Korean investors' interest in and demand for stablecoins is that strong," adding that "dependence on foreign-currency stablecoins is bound to keep growing."
