Competition in the South Korean Stablecoin Market Heats Up: Multiple Parties Layout to Seize Opportunities

Recently, the South Korean stablecoin market has shown a vigorous development trend. With the government's supportive stance on local currency-pegged stablecoins, various participants are accelerating their布局步伐, hoping to seize the initiative in this emerging field.

The Banking Alliance Actively Promotes

Currently, eight major commercial banks are preparing to establish a joint venture to issue a Korean won stablecoin. The participating banks include Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Woori Bank. It is reported that the project team is considering two issuance schemes: a trust model and a deposit token model. If everything goes smoothly, the joint venture could be established as early as the end of this year or early next year.

Among them, the National Bank has been the most proactive, having initiated the relevant trademark application process. Shinhan Bank had already collaborated with Hedera on a pilot for the Korean won stablecoin back in 2021. Woori Bank, Nonghyup Bank, and others also have rich experience in CBDC testing and blockchain projects.

Tech Giants Eager to Try

As a leader in the payment sector, Kakao Pay has been quite active recently. The company has submitted 18 trademark applications related to stablecoins to the Intellectual Property Office, covering areas such as virtual asset trading and electronic transfers. Kakao Pay is expected to leverage its advantages in social, payment, and financial services to provide a wide range of application scenarios for stablecoins.

The Kaia public chain also stated that it will fully promote the issuance of the Korean won stablecoin. As an EVM-compatible public chain jointly established by Kakao and LINE, Kaia aims to seize the market through the synergistic advantages of "on-chain + social + payment."

Payment service provider Danal has submitted multiple patent applications for POS terminals that support virtual asset payments, laying the technical foundation for future stablecoin payment scenarios. With years of accumulated POS network experience, Danal has an advantage in stablecoin settlement.

Startups Actively Positioning

Blockchain startup Nexus has issued a Korean won stablecoin named KRWx on the BNB Chain and has applied for related trademarks. The company also plans to establish a subsidiary in Hong Kong to promote the internationalization of the stablecoin.

Other Potential Participants

Samsung SDS's Nexledger and LG CNS's CBDC solutions have the core technological features required for stablecoins. The industry believes that these two IT giants are expected to become important infrastructure providers.

With the advancement of the "Digital Asset Basic Law", the competition landscape of the stablecoin market in South Korea will become clearer. All participants are accelerating their layouts to prepare for the upcoming stablecoin era.