Korea’s Stablecoin Bills, Interactive Brokers Plans and More

Welcome to the Asia Pacific Morning Brief—your essential digest of overnight crypto developments shaping regional markets and global sentiment. Grab a green tea and watch this space.

South Korea advances stablecoin regulation through competing parliamentary bills, Interactive Brokers explores customer stablecoin services, China’s money supply surge signals inflation risks, and PayPal revolutionizes cross-border payments with comprehensive crypto integration.

Korea’s Stablecoin Legislative Race Heats Up

South Korea’s parliament witnessed competing stablecoin bills accelerating regulatory momentum. Democratic Party’s Ahn Do-geol proposed comprehensive legislation requiring 5 billion won issuer capital. His bill emphasizes monetary-foreign exchange characteristics through inter-agency coordination. The framework establishes collaborative governance involving the Ministry of Economy and the Bank of Korea.

People Power Party’s Kim Eun-hye simultaneously filed competing regulations permitting interest payments on stablecoins. Her legislation mandates disclosure obligations, including whitepapers and product descriptions. Both proposals require Financial Services Commission pre-authorization with identical capital requirements.

Democratic colleague Min Byung-duk previously introduced the Digital Asset Basic Act in June. His comprehensive framework proposed a presidential Digital Asset Committee, along with KRW-based stablecoin authorization for the first time in the country. Min’s legislation requires a lower 500 million won capital threshold for stablecoin issuers.

Key policy differences emerge regarding interest payment permissions and regulatory scope. Ahn focuses on monetary governance while Kim emphasizes market innovation incentives. Korea positions itself as a regional fintech leader by accelerating bipartisan legislative competition toward comprehensive digital asset regulation.

Interactive Brokers Eyes Stablecoin Launch for Customer Funding

Interactive Brokers considers launching stablecoins for customers, joining major financial firms betting on digital tokens, according to Reuters. Billionaire founder Thomas Peterffy revealed deliberations about enabling 24/7 stablecoin funding for brokerage accounts. The $110 billion market-cap company currently partners with Paxos and invests in Zero Hash for crypto trading services.

Interactive Brokers explores allowing customers to use third-party stablecoins depending on issuer credibility. The platform seeks instant asset transfers for commonly traded cryptocurrencies. Peterffy expressed caution about crypto’s fundamental value despite customer adoption trends. The Greenwich-based firm manages 3.87 million accounts, representing 32% annual growth.

China’s Money Supply Surge Signals Inflation Risk

China’s M1 money supply accelerated to 4.6% year-over-year growth, reaching record $16 trillion levels, according to The Kobeissi Letter. This represents significant acceleration from 2.3% in May and 0.4% at year-start. China’s monetary base now doubles America’s $8 trillion M1 supply, comprising 33% of G10 nations’ total liquidity. Economists view expanding money supply as a leading inflation indicator, suggesting potential global price pressures ahead.

PayPal Revolutionizes Cross-Border Payments with Crypto Integration

PayPal launched Pay with Crypto, enabling merchants to accept over 100 cryptocurrencies with up to 90% transaction fee reductions. The platform connects digital wallets, including Coinbase, MetaMask, and Binance, to a $3+ trillion crypto market. CEO Alex Chriss emphasized removing barriers for global business growth through near-instant settlement capabilities.

The service offers 0.99% transaction rates compared to traditional international credit card processing. US merchants gain access to 650+ million crypto users worldwide while earning 4% returns on PYUSD holdings. PayPal’s integration covers 90% of total crypto market capitalization, supporting seamless fiat-to-crypto conversions.

This launch follows PayPal World’s announcement, unifying five major digital wallets on one platform. The company partners with Fiserv to expand global stablecoin adoption, positioning PayPal as a leader in borderless commerce innovation. Pay with Crypto becomes available to U.S. merchants within coming weeks, fundamentally transforming international payment infrastructure.