CoinDesk 2025-06-27 06:44:17

Circle Mania Grips South Korea as Retail Investors Pile Into Stablecoin Play

New York-listed Circle (CRCL) has become the breakout stock of June in Seoul. South Korean retail traders have poured nearly $450 million into shares of Circle Internet Group, per Bloomberg . The flurry of investment makes Circle the most heavily bought overseas stock this month and a top-four pick for the year. Since its June 5 debut, the stock has rallied more than 500%, briefly hitting a $77 billion market cap, making the company more valuable than its issued stablecoin USDC, which sits on a market cap of over $61 billion. South Koreans have been known to drive euphoric rallies in both their stock markets and major tokens, such as XRP XRP and dogecoin DOGE. It has even given rise to the crypto market-specific “Kimchi premium,” where local investors aggressively chase high-volatility assets, pushing prices higher by 10%-20% on local exchanges compared to their global peers. The demand for Circle comes on the back of newly elected President Lee Jae Myung fast-tracking of reforms to legalize korean won (KRW_-backed stablecoins, giving fintech giants like KakaoPay a clear runway to issue digital won. KakaoPay’s shares are up 160% in June alone, and Korean investors are now likely applying that same thesis abroad, with Circle as the global proxy for stablecoin adoption. While Circle is a freshly public company, it’s one of the few firms offering pure exposure to the infrastructure layer of stablecoins, one of the few sectors in crypto that has achieved breakout momentum outside of niche circles. Read more: Circle Drops 15%, Stock Frenzy Cools as BIS Warns of Stablecoin Risks