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A consortium of major South Korean banks is advancing plans to introduce a won-backed stablecoin by late 2025 or early 2026, in a strategic move to diversify digital currency offerings and reduce dependence on dollar-denominated stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.
The group—which includes KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, NongHyup Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Suhyup Bank, Citibank Korea, and Standard Chartered Korea—seeks to provide a localised, regulated alternative aligned with national monetary policy objectives.
The initiative comes at a time when South Korean lawmakers are accelerating efforts to establish a robust regulatory framework for digital assets. This legislative drive aims to reinforce financial autonomy and resilience, particularly amid ongoing global economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions.
The banks are currently evaluating two stablecoin issuance models:
- A trust-based model, where user funds would be held in custodial accounts, and
- A deposit-linked model, under which stablecoins would be issued directly against bank-held deposits, maintaining a one-to-one peg with the South Korean won.
The project is being developed in collaboration with the Open Blockchain and Decentralized Identifier Association (OBDIA) and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC)—a key operator of the national interbank payments infrastructure.
The proposed stablecoin framework is expected to support secure, transparent, and compliant digital transactions, while enhancing Korea’s position in the evolving landscape of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and private-sector digital assets.
If successful, the stablecoin could mark a significant shift in regional digital finance dynamics, offering consumers and businesses a locally governed alternative to foreign-backed stablecoins and further anchoring South Korea’s digital financial ecosystem within its regulatory and monetary framework.
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