Following Kakao Pay, major banks KB Kookmin and Hana Bank have successively filed trademark applications for won-based stablecoins, jumping into the competition to issue won coins. With game companies, securities firms, and fintech companies rushing to prepare for issuance, the won-based stablecoin market is heating up. ★Refer to the June 23rd issue, pages 1 and 9
According to the financial industry on the 25th, KB Kookmin Bank filed 32 trademark applications on the 23rd, including 'KBKRW' with its KB brand attached to the won (KRW), as well as 'KRWN', 'KRWKB', 'KRWL', etc. These trademarks were classified under electronic transfer and financial transaction services. This is the first time a commercial bank has filed a stablecoin-related trademark. A KB Kookmin Bank official explained, "We are contemplating a stablecoin business model."
Another commercial bank, Hana Bank, also applied for a total of 48 trademarks including HanaKRW and KRWHana on the same day. Hana Bank plans to join the Open Blockchain and DID Association and participate in the stablecoin consortium. This consortium includes 8 banks such as KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, NH, IBK, Suhyup, iM Bank, and K Bank, and is conceptualizing a business model to jointly issue stablecoins through a joint venture. Internet-only bank Kakao Bank also recently filed 12 trademark applications across 3 categories, including 'BKRW', 'KRWB', 'KKBKRW', and 'KRWKKB'.
With the banking sector's full-scale entry, competition for market dominance in the stablecoin market is heating up. Following Kakao Pay and game company Nexus, KCP, a fintech subsidiary of NHN, and Mirae Asset Consulting, a subsidiary of Mirae Asset Securities, have also filed trademark applications.
Legislation related to stablecoins is also gaining momentum. Previously, Democratic Party lawmaker Min Byung-deok proposed the 'Digital Asset Basic Act', which would allow fintech or general companies to issue stablecoins if they have over 500 million won in capital. Separately, Democratic Party lawmakers on the National Policy Committee plan to propose the 'Digital Asset Innovation Act' next month, which would strengthen the capital requirement to 1 billion won.
The industry's interest in stablecoins stems from different motivations. The banking sector is concerned that if stablecoins become widely used as a payment method for overseas remittances and settlements, deposits might flow out to stablecoins. A financial industry official stated, "We see stablecoins as a potential threat to banking business" and added that "it appears to be a defensive move to take the initiative before such a situation occurs."
Fintech companies and startups are focusing on creating new revenue streams. These include transaction fees from payment and remittance processes and interest income from customer deposits. Tether, the issuer of USDT, the top stablecoin by market capitalization, generated $13 billion in net profit last year based on interest income. Kang Hee-chang, co-founder of Populus, emphasized that "using stablecoins can create new business opportunities by linking financial infrastructure to one's own system or other platforms."
However, concerns about the side effects of stablecoins are being raised, centered around the Bank of Korea. On the 25th, the bank warned, "If the value stability and trust in reserve assets of stablecoins are compromised, it could lead to de-pegging and a 'coin run' due to large-scale redemption requests," and that "this could spread to financial system risks." The Bank of Korea believes that even if stablecoins are permitted, they should be centered around banks with high credibility.
Experts unanimously agree that stablecoins are an unstoppable technological trend. A senior financial industry official stated, "From a payment settlement perspective, the use of virtual assets and stablecoins should be seen as unavoidable."
- Reporters Shin Jung-seop, Do Ye-ri
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