What changed
2026-07-31 01:33 UTC → 2026-08-13 03:04 UTC ·
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By early July 2026 South Korea’s financial sector deepened its digital‑asset push. is aggressively pursuing digital-asset integration through exchange acquisitions, stablecoin pilots, and CBDC development. In mid-2026, major institutions secured stakes in domestic exchanges: Hana Investment & Securities and OKX Ventures acquired 20% each took 20 % stakes in Coinone; banks and conglomerates bought shares Coinone, while Mirae Asset Consulting moved to acquire a controlling interest in Upbit, Korbit and other licensed exchanges, fueling plans Korbit. Additionally, Kiwoom Securities entered negotiations for a won‑stablecoin and on‑chain settlement. Proof‑of‑concepts from Toss‑Bank, Danal‑Busan Bank stake in Bithumb to comply with upcoming ownership caps in the Digital Asset Basic Act. Stablecoin and others highlighted merchant‑acceptance, while regulators warned about high‑leverage KOSPI futures launched abroad. On 6 July CBDC initiatives have progressed significantly. Busan Bank piloted successfully completed a KRW‑stablecoin KRW-stablecoin pilot on the Kaia blockchain with sub‑second settlement; on 9 July Governor Shin Hyun‑song called for a legal framework, proposing a bank‑centric consortium to prevent capital‑control circumvention. blockchain, achieving sub-second settlement. The Bank of Korea’s Project Hangang moved to Phase 2 in September, with the Bank of Korea issuing a wholesale CBDC on a blockchain and 2, involving nine commercial banks—including new members Gyeongnam Bank, iM Bank and Shinhan Bank—creating banks in creating “deposit tokens” for everyday payments. New features cover peer‑to‑peer transfers, biometric login, auto‑deposit/withdrawal and a pilot for EV‑charging subsidies, while a bond‑tokenisation trial is linked to payments, including EV-charging subsidies. To support this, the CBDC platform. A Deposit‑Token Deposit Token Payment Infrastructure Expansion, funded Expansion Project—funded with 9.6 bn won, partners nine banks, eight payment providers and won—partners firms such as like KG Inicis and NHN KCP to lower costs for micro‑merchants. NHN KCP will leverage its payment network to integrate token payments across convenience stores, supermarkets and online platforms, exploring tokenised government subsidies and policy‑fund disbursements. On 30 July 2026 into existing merchant networks. Toss Payments was chosen also selected as a preferred negotiation partner for the government’s deposit‑token payment pilot. As part of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s “Blockchain Innovation Leading Project,” Toss Payments will to develop the gateway linking the token network to merchants, aiming retailers. Corporate interest is expanding into operational use cases. Coupang is testing KRW-pegged stablecoins with Woori Bank for merchant settlements, while Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO International are exploring cross-border remittances and tokenized trade finance. Looking ahead, the government plans to shrink pilot tokenized government bonds on the Bank of Korea’s settlement times from days to near‑instant and remove hardware or software changes for small retailers. system starting in 2027.