The post South Korean Won: Asia outperformer on flows and BoK – Societe Generale appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Societe Generale strategists note the Korean Won (KRW) has become Asia’s best performer in early H2, rallying nearly 2.8% as USD/KRW drops from around 1,550 to near 1,500. They link gains to FX conversion flows tied to SK Hynix ADRs and expectations of a 25 bp Bank of Korea (BoK) hike to 2.75%, following a weak first half for KRW. Won rally driven by flows and policy “Elsewhere in EM, the KRW has emerged as Asia’s best performer in early 2H, with a gain of nearly 2.8% (spot). The sharp drop from around 1,550 in early July to near 1,500 coincided with profit taking in the KOSPI.” “We recently highlighted the shift in the FX regime from one driven primarily by trade balances to one increasingly influenced by portfolio flows, resulting in a more pronounced inverse correlation between the KRW and KOSPI amid concerns of frothy semiconductor valuations incl Samsung and SK Hyn
The post South Korean Won: Rally versus sustained USD strength – TD Securities appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
TD Securities’ Macro Research team, led by Howard Du with contributions from Jayati Bharadwaj and Linda Cheng, analyzes the recent Korean Won rally and its impact on USD/KRW. They argue that despite KRW strength, the broader US Dollar (USD) uptrend against South Korean Won (KRW) remains intact and is likely to persist until a new bearish USD cycle emerges, highlighting key technical levels and intervention risks. USD/KRW uptrend seen resilient “KRW is in focus for FX market as it has been the best-performing major currency in July. KRW outperformance is notable in light of rising crude oil price on resurgence of Middle East geopolitical risk and falling equity prices for semiconductor stocks.” “Recent KRW rally has caught the FX market’s attention, and we discuss our outlook for USD/KRW. We believe the USD/KRW uptrend should remain in place until a new bearish USD wave fo
The post South Korean Won: Oil-linked range view into BoK meeting – Commerzbank appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Commerzbank’s Charlie Lay argues that elevated South Korean inflation strengthens the case for a 25bp Bank of Korea (BoK) hike to 2.75% on 16 July. USD/KRW has fallen from 1560 to 1506 on earlier Oil weakness, but the bank now expects the pair to trade in a 1500–1520 range, with Oil prices and global risk sentiment remaining key drivers. Won pressured by inflation and Oil “South Korea’s inflation remained elevated in June, reinforcing the view that the Bank of Korea (BoK) is on course to hike rates next week. Headline CPI inflation was slightly higher at 3.2% yoy from 3.1% in May, marking the highest reading since December 2023. It remained well above BoK’s 2% target.” “Other factors expected to keep inflationary pressures firm include the weak won and robust wage growth linked to the AI-driven semiconductor boom.” “The latest inflation report strengthens the case for Bo
The post Bank of Korea defends bank-first stablecoin plan amid bill deadlock appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
The Bank of Korea has reaffirmed that won-denominated stablecoins should initially be issued through bank-led consortiums, reinforcing its position as South Korea’s digital asset legislation remains stalled. Summary Bank of Korea has reaffirmed support for bank-led issuance of won-backed stablecoins. The central bank plans to expand deposit-token pilots for public payments and services. Disagreements over stablecoin rules continue to delay South Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act. According to local reports from Digital Asset and EDaily, the Bank of Korea (BOK) restated its position in documents submitted on Thursday to the National Assembly’s finance committee. The central bank argued that bank-led consortiums should receive priority when issuing won-backed stablecoins and also proposed creating a statutory policy body that would bring together financial regulators and other
The Bank of Korea has reaffirmed that won-denominated stablecoins should initially be issued through bank-led consortiums, reinforcing its position as South Korea’s digital asset legislation remains stalled. According to local reports from Digital Asset and EDaily, the Bank of Korea…
The post South Korean Won: Gains hinge on supportive flows against US Dollar – OCBC appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Christopher Wong notes that Korean Won strength remains largely flow-driven, with USD/KRW dropping below 1,500 on offshore fund repatriation and official vigilance. While bearish momentum persists, Wong expects the pullback to moderate and sees a sustained break below 1,500 as requiring a benign backdrop for the Dollar, Oil and equities. Flow-driven strength faces key levels “KRW continued to outperform, with USD/KRW falling from almost 1,560 at the start of the month to sub-1500 briefly yesterday before rebounding. The move looks flow-driven rather than risk or macro-driven.” “KRW strengthened despite a less friendly macro backdrop, including the oil spike, renewed geopolitical concerns and KOSPI underperformance. USD/KRW appears to have been weighed by inflows and repatriation of funds raised offshore, while official vigilance has also stayed high as Korea shifts i
The post Q2 2026 Digital Asset Review appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
This summary was created based on CoinDesk Research’s latest report; Digital Assets: Quarterly Review and Outlook, Featuring CoinDesk 5 and CoinDesk 20. – Joshua de Vos, Research Lead, CoinDesk Ask an Expert Q: Is Asia advancing via tokenization and stablecoins rather than spot bitcoin ETFs? Institutional adoption in Asia is shifting from exploratory pilots to targeted deployment, with tokenization of real-world asset and regulatory stablecoin acting as key entry points for bank and asset managers. Jurisdictions like Hong Kong have introduced comprehensive legislation such as the Stablecoins Ordinance. Requiring full reserve backing, redemption rights and risk controls to make tokenization activity compatible with existing prudential frameworks. Against that backdrop, pure bitcoin ETF plays a smaller strategic role than in North America and Europe. Q: Are bitcoin ETFs adding income features like other non-tradit
The post India: Tactical duration opportunity on rates – DBS appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
DBS Group Research economist Sherilyn Chew notes that renewed geopolitical risk has lifted yields across Asia, but sees Indian G-Secs as offering a tactical opportunity. She argues the India sell-off is mainly macro repricing, with domestic fundamentals and structural demand intact. Foreign participation remains supportive, and DBS views the 10-year sector as attractive for adding duration once risk sentiment stabilises. Indian G-Secs repricing seen as transient “Renewed geopolitical risk has pushed yields higher across the region, but we would differentiate between markets where the repricing presents a more compelling entry and those where it reinforces existing concerns.” “For India, the sell-off looks largely driven by a broad-based macro repricing rather than any deterioration in domestic fundamentals.” “With supportive structural demand and ongoing foreign participation still support
The post Fed: Divergent inflation paths shape rate outlook – Societe Generale appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Societe Generale’s Jan Groen notes that the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes confirmed a hawkish hold, with the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) showing an even split between members favoring unchanged or lower rates and those preferring hikes. The Fed sees inflation as too high and the labor market as durably stable, but is divided on how long elevated inflation will persist, which drives differing policy rate views. Committee split on inflation persistence “We had a hawkish hold at the June FOMC meeting with the June update of the SEP indicating an even split between Committee members that wanted to keep rates on hold or cut vs. members who wanted to raise rates.” “Today’s release of the minutes of that meeting did not contain any major surprises and it confirmed the hawkish undertone from the post-meeting communications.” “Where there was disagreem
