BNK Busan Bank is participating in a consortium with major domestic banks to jointly research won-based stablecoins and is reviewing plans to convert the local currency 'Dongbaek Jeon' into a digital stablecoin. The banking sector, along with fintech companies, securities firms, and game companies, are accelerating preparations for issuing won-based stablecoins, with preliminary work such as trademark applications and platform development actively underway.
According to BNK Financial Group on the 25th, BNK Busan Bank is pursuing membership in the Stablecoin Committee of the Open Blockchain and DID Association and plans to participate in joint research. Major domestic banks such as Shinhan, Woori, Industrial Bank of Korea, Kookmin, Suhyup, Nonghyup, and K Bank are also participating. This serves as a preparatory measure for BNK Busan Bank in line with the recently proposed 'Digital Asset Basic Law' regarding stablecoin issuance and operation.
BNK Busan Bank is also researching ways to convert the local currency 'Dongbaek Jeon' into a digital currency in the form of a stablecoin in cooperation with Busan City. The bank aims to establish a digital asset-based financial infrastructure in the Busan region.
The banking sector is focusing on participating in joint projects led by the Korea Federation of Banks and the Bank of Korea in preparation for the passage of the Digital Asset Basic Law. Some banks are participating in the central bank digital currency (CBDC) distribution experiment 'Project Han River', believing that collaboration within the institutional framework is desirable for won-based stablecoins.
Domestic fintech companies and the securities industry are also moving quickly. KakaoPay, which has built a simple payment and remittance service based on KakaoTalk, has recently filed trademark applications with the Patent Office for a total of 6 names including 'PKRW', 'KKRW', 'KRWP', 'KPKRW', 'KRWKP', and 'KRWK' for won-based stablecoins. Mirae Asset Consulting, a subsidiary of Mirae Asset Securities, has also completed trademark applications for won-based stablecoins such as 'KRWM' and 'KRWX'. Busan Digital Asset Exchange (Bdan), which has completed the acquisition of Sengold, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with digital twin specialist E8 on the 24th to commercialize digital asset issuance and distribution, and is pursuing stablecoin platform development.
Game companies with experience in issuing their own coins are also preparing to enter the won-based stablecoin issuance competition. Nexus CEO Jang Hyun-guk announced that he has registered 'KRWx' on Binance's blockchain network 'BNB' chain and completed trademark applications. Nexus, which has used its self-issued coin 'Cross' as a payment method within its game platform, determined that it had limitations as a stable exchange medium due to significant price volatility. They have developed a strategy to establish new standards for item trading between users and service payments using a value-fixed stablecoin. A Nexus representative stated, "We have completed all preparations to immediately apply it to the platform once final approval is received from the Financial Services Commission."
