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Tether Files 7 South Korea Trademarks as Stablecoin Rules Near

Tether Files 7 South Korea Trademarks as Stablecoin Rules Near

Tether’s new South Korea trademark filings come as Circle also courts local partners and regulators debate rules that could require foreign stablecoin issuers to establish domestic operations.

USDT
USDC

Fact Check
All four sources independently confirm the core claim: Tether filed exactly 7 trademark applications in South Korea via KIPRIS on or around May 19, 2026, covering its company name, logo, and Tether Gold (XAUT). The primary Korean-language source, Chosun Biz, directly references the KIPRIS (Korean Intellectual Property Rights Information Service) registry, which is the authoritative government database for trademark filings in South Korea. The regulatory context - South Korea's Digital Asset Basic Act potentially requiring foreign stablecoin issuers to establish domestic branches - is consistently corroborated across all sources, as is Circle's competing activity in the market. The number '7' is specific and consistent across all sources. No conflicting information was found.
Summary

Tether has filed seven trademarks in South Korea, including its corporate name, logo, and gold-backed stablecoin Tether Gold, in a move seen as preparing for entry into the local market. The filings come as South Korea considers the Digital Asset Basic Act, which is expected to require foreign stablecoin issuers to maintain a domestic branch to distribute tokens locally. Circle is also pursuing the market: CEO Jeremy Allaire visited Seoul in April, met with KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, and Hana Financial Group, and said Circle plans to establish a Korean subsidiary and seek a license if foreign issuers are permitted. Circle has also partnered with Dunamu and Bithumb to expand USDC access, while Hana Card launched a March pilot enabling foreign visitors to pay local merchants using USDC through Circle and Crypto.com. Tether is simultaneously expanding in other regions through an investment in LemFi, which will integrate USDT as a settlement layer across payment corridors serving Africa and Asia. According to the report, South Korea has about 18 million crypto investors, with exchanges recording more than $663 billion in trading through mid-2025, as policymakers continue debating whether stablecoin issuance should be limited to banks or opened through a broader licensing model.

Terms & Concepts
  • Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value, typically by being linked to a reserve asset such as a fiat currency or gold.
  • Tether Gold: A gold-backed token issued by Tether that is intended to track the value of physical gold.
  • USDC: A U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, commonly used for trading, payments, and blockchain-based settlement.