South Korea Advances Blockchain Finance with Tokenized Bond Pilot and Deposit‑Token Payment Project

South Korea announced that 2027 will mark the start of a pilot to issue tokenized government bonds on the Bank of Korea’s settlement system. The plan follows a proposal to modernise the National Asset Basic Act, which would bring seized virtual assets and other state‑owned property into a digital accounting framework covering roughly 1,403 trillion won (about $935 billion). The pilot aims to test how sovereign debt can be recorded on a shared ledger and assess the role of blockchain in public‑sector finance.

Separately, the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Ministry of Science and ICT launched the Deposit Token‑Based Payment Infrastructure Expansion Project, allocating 9.6 billion won. A consortium of nine banks, eight payment providers and other partners will develop blockchain‑enabled deposit‑token payments to lower processing costs for micro and small merchants. The initiative builds on the Bank of Korea’s earlier CBD‑digital‑currency pilot and seeks to extend blockchain settlement capabilities into everyday commercial transactions.