Korean crypto investors are in panic as they watch stablecoins nosedive amid hectic selloff in risky assets.

According to global crypto tracker CoinMarketCap on Tuesday, eight stablecoins associated with Korean issuers dropped below their $1 peg. Currently, eight crypto networks, such as Near Protocol, Waves, Tron, and Kava, are listed in domestic exchanges for transactions in the Korean currency. Their market volume in Korea is sizable with Tron and Kava commanding market caps of 7.33 trillion won ($5.68 billion) and 470 billion won.

USDX associated with Kava lost its value to $0.871, while Hive’s HBD dropped to $0.886. As cryptocurrencies are volatile, they can rebound to their previous value at any time. But investors can turn to panicky sale if the gap widens with the peg as it had been the case with the Luna downfall.

Tron lost 30 percent this month while Kava was off 40 percent. Luna, the centerpiece of the Terra block chain, plunged 99.99 percent value after its peg to the dollar broke. The worst may be yet to come amid collapse in the crypto market. Bitcoin dropped below 30 million won on Tuesday 500 days after December 29, 2020. Ether was down to 1.4 million won.

Domestic crypto exchanges have warned investors of transactions in Tron’s USDD and Waves’ USDN. “As USDD and USDN fail to maintain their peg to the dollar, investors need to be cautious,” said Upbit.

By Choi Keun-do and Jenny Lee

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]