South Korea's stablecoin market welcomes a longer competition

With the South Korean government actively promoting the development of stablecoins pegged to the local currency, various longer forces are strategically positioning themselves in this emerging market. From traditional banking alliances to tech giants to Web3 companies, all parties are actively preparing, hoping to gain an edge in this highly promising field.

Banking Alliance Seizes the Opportunity

The Bank of Korea has a cautious attitude towards stablecoins and believes that they should be issued first by strictly regulated commercial banks. In line with this direction, eight major banks, including Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, are preparing to establish a joint venture to issue a Korean won stablecoin. They are considering two issuance methods: a trust model and a deposit token model, and the joint venture could be established as early as the end of this year or early next year.

Among them, the National Bank has shown the most enthusiasm and has initiated the relevant trademark application process. Shinhan Bank, leveraging its previous experience in collaboration with Hedera, has a slight advantage in terms of technical reserves. Woori Bank, Nonghyup Bank, and others have rich experience in the international payment field, while Standard Chartered and Citibank's Korean branches can provide overseas network support.

Tech Giants Eager to Try

Kakao Pay, as a leading company in the payment sector in South Korea, is actively laying out its stablecoin business. It has submitted 18 related trademark applications to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, covering areas such as virtual asset trading and electronic transfers. Kakao Pay can also leverage the ecological advantages of its parent company to achieve deep integration of social, payment, and financial services.

The Kaia public chain plans to collaborate with super applications such as Kakao Pay and LINE NEXT to achieve integrated cross-chain and cross-platform circulation of "on-chain + social + payment." With the ecological synergy of the underlying public chain and terminal payment, Kaia is expected to quickly launch stablecoin products after regulatory approval.

The veteran payment service provider Danal has once again launched its digital currency business and has applied for multiple patents related to POS terminals that support virtual asset payments. Its rich experience in payment clearing may provide technical support for the stablecoin business.

Web3 Startups Actively Deploy

The blockchain startup Nexus has pre-issued a Korean won stablecoin named KRWx on the BNB Chain and has applied for relevant trademarks. The company also plans to issue various fiat stablecoins such as the US dollar, Japanese yen, and Euro, and intends to establish a subsidiary in Hong Kong to promote its international layout.

Other Potential Participants

Samsung SDS's Nexledger and LG CNS's CBDC system solutions both possess the core technical capabilities required for the issuance and management of stablecoins. With the improvement of relevant regulations, these IT giants are expected to secure an important position in the stablecoin infrastructure field through technology export.

With the advancement of the "Basic Law on Digital Assets" and the clarification of the policy environment, South Korea's stablecoin market is expected to experience explosive growth from the second half of 2025 to the first half of 2026. Various forces are gearing up, and the competition for the Korean won stablecoin is about to fully kick off.