JPYC, a yen-linked crypto stablecoin, briefly traded far above its intended reference value after debuting on a South Korean won market. According to a September 19 report by Dailyian, the token climbed to 37.6 won shortly after trading opened on September 17, then retreated sharply to the 8-won range by the following morning.
As of September 19, JPYC was changing hands at 8.64 won. The move highlighted how a newly listed stablecoin can detach from its target value when early circulating supply is tight and the normal channels for arbitrage are limited.
A sharp move after trading began
JPYC is designed to be redeemable at 1 yen per token, making its intended reference value far below the levels seen immediately after the Korean won-market listing. Even so, the token surged to more than three times that benchmark soon after trading started.
Dailyian said the spike came as buying demand hit a market with limited initial circulating supply. That imbalance allowed domestic prices to rise rapidly before additional supply and cross-market trading could narrow the gap.
Price gave back most of the gains
The jump did not last long. After peaking at 37.6 won on September 17, JPYC fell to the 8-won range the next morning, a drop of roughly 76% from the high.
By September 19, the token was reported trading at 8.64 won. Even after the decline, that level still reflected a price shaped by local market conditions rather than a quick return to its 1-yen reference framework.
Why arbitrage was slow to respond
The report pointed to several frictions that kept the premium from being erased quickly. At the start of trading, JPYC deposits and withdrawals were available only on Ethereum, limiting the routes through which traders could move tokens in and out of the market.
Kaia and Polygon support were added later, but around the same period some network issuance reservations were temporarily suspended during the JPYC issuance process. Dailyian also cited restricted redemption and transfer channels, along with a lack of domestic market makers, as factors that delayed arbitrage.
What comes next
The episode illustrates how stablecoin pricing can become distorted when exchange access expands faster than token distribution and market-making infrastructure. In JPYC's case, the combination of limited supply, narrow transfer options, and operational constraints appears to have amplified volatility immediately after listing.
The next confirmed development in the timeline is that broader network support was added after trading began, with Kaia and Polygon joining Ethereum for deposits and withdrawals. Whether that leads to smoother price alignment was not established in the report, but those access channels are central to how quickly future price gaps may close.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io