South Korea’s won has had a rough stretch. The currency recently dropped to near 17-year lows against the dollar.
SK hynix, South Korea’s dominant memory chipmaker, completed what is now the largest American Depositary Receipt listing in US history on July 10, 2026. The company priced 177.9 million ADRs at $149 each, raising approximately $26.5B in a single transaction.
How a chip listing becomes an FX event
When SK hynix raises dollars through a US listing, those proceeds eventually need to find their way back to South Korea. That means converting dollars into won, which increases demand for the Korean currency and, all else equal, pushes its value higher.
The Bank of Korea estimates that total dollar inflows related to the listing could reach as high as $30B when factoring in associated capital movements.
