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South Korea exchanges record $60B crypto outflows as profits fall

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South Korea exchanges record $60B crypto outflows as profits fall

South Korean crypto exchanges recorded large capital outflows in the second half of 2025, even as user activity and deposits continued to grow. 

Summary

  • South Korean exchanges recorded $60 billion in crypto outflows as funds moved offshore in 2025.
  • Exchange accounts rose to 11.1 million and customer deposits climbed despite weaker market conditions nationwide.
  • Profits, trading volumes, and market capitalization fell as crypto prices softened late in 2025 overall.

New data from the Financial Services Commission showed that more funds moved to overseas platforms and private wallets during the period. The report also showed weaker profits and lower trading activity across the local market.

The Financial Services Commission said crypto outflows from South Korean exchanges reached 90 trillion won, or about $60 billion, in the second half of 2025. That marked a 14% rise from 78.9 trillion won, or $52.5 billion, in the first half of the year.

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The regulator linked part of that movement to cross-border trading activity. In its report, the FSC said, 

”It is presumed that virtual assets are being transferred abroad for arbitrage and other similar activities.”

The statement pointed to overseas platforms and private wallets as major destinations for those transfers.

The report showed that more people continued to use local crypto exchanges despite the rise in outflows. By the end of 2025, the number of exchange accounts reached 11.1 million, up 3% from June 2025.

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Customer deposits rose at a faster pace. The FSC said deposits climbed 31% to 8.1 trillion won, or about $5.4 billion, during the second half of the year. The figures showed that users kept adding funds to exchanges even as market conditions turned weaker.

In addition, the growth in accounts and deposits did not lift earnings for exchange operators. The country’s 18 active exchanges posted 380.7 billion won, or $253.4 million, in operating profit in the second half. That figure was down 38% from 617.8 billion won, or $411.2 million, in the first half.

Trading activity also moved lower during the period. The FSC estimated average daily trading volume at 5.4 trillion won, or $3.6 billion, which was 15% lower than in the first half. The regulator said lower crypto prices near the end of 2025 likely weighed on exchange revenue and market activity.

Market value also moved lower

The report estimated South Korea’s total crypto market capitalization at 87.2 trillion won, or about $58 billion, at the end of 2025. That was down 8% from the first half of the year and reflected softer market conditions across major digital assets.

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The broader market remained below its October 2025 peak, when bitcoin reached an all-time high of about $126,080. The FSC data showed that while local participation stayed firm, weaker prices and lower volumes put pressure on exchange performance in the second half.

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Tether Takes 8.2% Stake in Antalpha, Expanding Mining Financing Ties

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Crypto Breaking News

Tether has disclosed an 8.2% stake in Antalpha, acquiring about 1.95 million Antalpha shares through related entities. The position, disclosed in a Schedule 13D filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, places the stablecoin issuer among Antalpha’s largest shareholders following the mining-focused lender’s May 2025 initial public offering. Giancarlo Devasini, Tether’s chairman, shares voting and dispositive power over the stake, according to the filing. The document also notes that Tether and its affiliates may adjust their holdings over time in response to market conditions and other factors.

Antalpha operates in the Bitcoin-backed lending and equipment-financing space, catering to mining operators. The company reported a loan portfolio of about $1.6 billion as of the end of 2024 and maintains close ties to the Bitmain ecosystem, a major supplier of mining hardware.

Antalpha raised roughly $49.3 million in its IPO, at $12.80 per share. Tether had previously signaled a potential interest in purchasing up to $25 million worth of shares.

In its latest annual figures, Antalpha posted 2025 revenue of $79.7 million, up 68% year over year, with net income rising to $18.5 million—more than triple the previous year’s figure. On the day of the disclosure, Antalpha’s stock climbed about 7.2% to around $9.97 in early trading, according to Google Finance data.

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Source: Cointelegraph, based on the Schedule 13D filing and Antalpha’s financial disclosures.

Key takeaways

  • Tether now holds roughly 1.95 million Antalpha shares, representing an 8.2% stake and giving the founder’s circle voting power over the position, per the Schedule 13D.
  • The stake arrives after Antalpha’s May 2025 IPO, with Tether previously indicating interest in buying up to $25 million of shares.
  • Antalpha’s core business centers on Bitcoin-backed lending and mining equipment financing, with a reported $1.6 billion loan portfolio at year-end 2024 and ties to the Bitmain ecosystem.
  • Tether’s broader investment strategy is to deploy profits across crypto infrastructure, tokenized assets, and related tech—new bets alongside existing holdings in Eight Sleep, Gold.com, Anchorage Digital, and a Kaio-backed round.
  • The stablecoin issuer remains the dominant player in the market, with USDT accounting for about $187 billion in market capitalization and the total stablecoin market near $320.7 billion.

Antalpha and the mining-finance niche

Antalpha’s business model emphasizes liquidity and equipment financing for mining operators, a space that has drawn interest from investors seeking exposure to the cyclical upswing of crypto mining. The company’s sizable loan portfolio signals a continued focus on securing scalable credit lines for operators navigating equipment cycles and capital expenditure needs. Its connection to Bitmain’s ecosystem underscores a strategic alignment with a major supplier in the mining hardware sector, potentially easing access to hardware and related financing channels for clients.

Tether’s stake: governance, strategy, and potential impacts

The Schedule 13D filing confirms that Tether’s stake in Antalpha is substantial enough to position the company as a major shareholder. With Devasini listed as sharing voting and dispositive power, the arrangement signals an intentional governance role in Antalpha’s ongoing development. While the filing notes that Tether and its affiliates may adjust their position over time, the move reflects a broader pattern of Tether diversifying beyond its core stablecoin operations into strategic investments across crypto finance, infrastructure, and real-world asset initiatives.

Cointelegraph has previously reported on Tether’s expansive capital deployment—an approach that taps profits from USDT to fund ventures across mining, AI, financial services, and tokenized assets. The recent Antalpha stake complements a portfolio that has included investments in tokenized real assets and regulated financial infrastructure. The company’s strategy has included selective allocations to fintech and on-chain finance ventures, with profits fueling these bets rather than reserve-backed liquidity alone.

Tether’s broader venture footprint and what it signals

Beyond Antalpha, Tether’s investment activity this year has spanned several notable deals. In March, the company led a $50 million funding round for Eight Sleep, a firm building sleep-focused wellness hardware and software, which valued the company at around $1.5 billion. In February, Tether acquired a roughly $150 million stake in Gold.com, representing about 12% ownership, as part of its push to widen access to tokenized gold through its XAUt stablecoin product. In the same month, Tether announced a $100 million equity investment in Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered U.S. digital asset bank that provides custody, settlement, and stablecoin issuance services to institutional clients.

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CEO Paolo Ardoino has publicly highlighted the breadth of Tether’s venture exposure, noting that the firm has invested in more than 120 companies through its venture arm, with funding drawn from profits rather than from stablecoin reserves. This approach aims to diversify the company’s revenue streams and digital-asset ecosystem exposure while maintaining a cautious stance toward custodial and regulatory-compliant ventures.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Tether could pursue fresh capital at a valuation around $500 billion, with the company signaling that fundraising could be delayed if investor appetite does not materialize. The stake in Antalpha, along with the broader lineup of strategic bets, reinforces a narrative of continuous expansion into crypto infrastructure and related industries—an approach that aligns with Tether’s long-term ambition to anchor a broader ecosystem around stablecoins and on-chain finance.

Market context and what to watch next

Antalpha’s performance, combined with Tether’s growing investment footprint, offers a window into how stablecoin issuers are recalibrating their role in the crypto economy—from liquidity providers to strategic accelerators for on-chain assets, mining finance, and tokenized real-world assets. For investors, the key questions revolve around governance outcomes, the impact on Antalpha’s strategy and profitability, and how Tether’s venture portfolio may influence regulatory and market perceptions of stability-backed capital in crypto markets.

As the crypto landscape evolves, observers will watch how Tether’s stake translates into governance influence at Antalpha, how Antalpha leverages this partnership to scale its lending and financing operations, and how the broader set of Tether-backed ventures interacts with growth in mining, asset tokenization, and institutional-grade on-chain infrastructure.

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Readers should stay attentive to Antalpha’s quarterly results and any subsequent regulatory disclosures that illuminate how such strategic holdings shape governance, risk, and value creation in the mining-finance niche and beyond.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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Tether Takes 8.2% Stake in Antalpha, Backs Bitcoin Mining Finance

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Tether Takes 8.2% Stake in Antalpha, Backs Bitcoin Mining Finance

Tether has taken an 8.2% stake in Antalpha, making the stablecoin issuer one of the company’s largest shareholders following its May 2025 initial public offering (IPO), according to a Monday filing.

The Schedule 13D filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Tether now holds 1.95 million shares through related entities, with Giancarlo Devasini, chairman of Tether, sharing voting and dispositive power over the position.

The filing also states that Tether and its related entities may increase or reduce their holdings over time depending on market conditions and other factors.

Antalpha provides Bitcoin-backed lending and equipment financing to mining operators, reporting a loan portfolio of about $1.6 billion as of the end of 2024, and is closely tied to the Bitmain ecosystem, a major supplier of mining hardware.

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Antalpha raised about $49.3 million in last year’s IPO at $12.80 per share, according to its prospectus. Tether had previously indicated interest in purchasing as much as $25 million worth of shares.

Antalpha reported 2025 revenue of $79.7 million, up 68% year over year, while net income rose to $18.5 million, more than tripling from the previous year.

On Monday, its shares rose about 7.2% to around $9.97 in early trading, per Google Finance data.

Source: Google Finance

Tether is the issuer of Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, with a market cap of about $187 billion, roughly 58.4% of the total stablecoin market, which stands near $320.7 billion, according to DefiLlama data.

Stablecoin market cap. Source: DefiLlama

Related: Tether announces $150M recovery program for Drift Protocol

Tether expands investments across crypto infrastructure and beyond

Tether’s investment in Antalpha comes as the company is using its recent profits to expand into a range of sectors tied to digital assets, including mining, artificial intelligence, financial services and tokenized assets.

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Earlier on Monday, real-world asset tokenization protocol Kaio said Tether participated in an $8 million funding round.

“The participation of Tether reflects direct strategic alignment,” the announcement said. “USDT has become the dominant settlement layer for cross-border capital flows. KAIO provides the next layer: structured, compliant access to institutional-grade yield for USDT holders.”

In March, Tether led a $50 million investment in Eight Sleep, a company that develops sleep-focused products such as smart mattresses and wellness systems, valuing it at $1.5 billion.

In February, the company acquired a $150 million stake in Gold.com, representing about 12% ownership, as part of a push to expand access to tokenized gold through its XAUt product.

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The same month, Tether made a $100 million equity investment in Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered US digital asset bank that provides custody, settlement and stablecoin issuance services to institutional clients.

CEO Paolo Ardoino said in July that Tether has invested in more than 120 companies through its venture arm, with those investments funded from company profits rather than stablecoin reserves.

Source: Paolo Ardoino on X

Earlier this month, Tether was reported to be seeking fresh capital at a $500 billion valuation, with the company indicating it could delay the raise if investor demand falls short.

Magazine: Adam Back says current demand is ‘almost’ enough to send Bitcoin to $1M