"Using stablecoins for trade settlement can cut costs by up to 3%"

"Today’s trade settlement structure generates a lot of unnecessary costs through currency conversion and intermediary processes. By using stablecoins (cryptoassets whose value is pegged to fiat currency), we can dramatically reduce them."

Kang Hyung-gu, a professor in the Department of Finance at Hanyang University, said this on the 2nd at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building at the National Assembly during the 'Stablecoin-Based Trade Finance Policy, Institutional and Financial Strategy Seminar.'

Professor Kang highlighted that stablecoins can reduce costs incurred in the existing trade transaction system. He said, "In conventional trade settlement, costs arise from a settlement period of 3–5 days, FX costs from double currency conversion, and intermediary bank fees for using institutional networks," adding, "Stablecoins can significantly shorten the settlement period and virtually eliminate FX and intermediation costs."

He continued, "Based on an analysis using $50,000—the average transaction size for small and medium-sized enterprises—as a benchmark, the introduction of stablecoins reduces per-transaction costs by up to about 2–3%," and argued, "This means that even applying them to only part of trade could enable annual cost savings worth several hundred billion won."

He also projected that stablecoins could help spur trade and expand markets. "The cost-saving effect does not stop at a simple reduction in fees," he said. "If trade settlement costs fall, companies that have been unable to try trade due to cost burdens will be able to enter the market."