The South Korean stablecoin market is accelerating its development, with longer competing for the leading position.

The South Korean government has made its support for a local currency-backed stablecoin clear, leading to a surge in activity in the cryptocurrency industry. Not only are major commercial banks collaborating to prepare a Korean won stablecoin project, but tech giants and Web3 companies are also making moves, striving to gain an edge in the regional and even global stablecoin competition.

With the review of the "Basic Law on Digital Assets" and the establishment of the regulatory framework, the second half of 2025 to the first half of 2026 may become a critical period for explosive growth in the South Korean stablecoin market. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the main participants, business models, and innovation trends in the South Korean stablecoin market.

The Bank of Korea has a cautious attitude towards stablecoins, believing that they should first be issued by strictly regulated commercial banks to accumulate experience before gradually expanding into the non-bank sector. Against this backdrop, eight major banks plan to establish a joint venture to issue a Korean won stablecoin, including Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Woori Bank. The project team is considering two issuance methods: a trust model and a deposit token model, with the joint venture expected to be established as early as the end of this year or early next year.

As the largest retail bank in South Korea, Kookmin Bank has been the most proactive in the stablecoin space and has initiated the trademark application process. Shinhan Bank, on the other hand, collaborated with Hedera back in 2021 to pilot a KRW stablecoin and participated in a demonstration experiment for overseas remittances between Korea and Japan based on stablecoins.

Payment giant Kakao Pay is also actively laying out its Korean won stablecoin business. On June 22, the company submitted 18 trademark applications related to stablecoins to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, covering the fields of virtual asset financial transactions, electronic transfers, and intermediary services. Kakao Pay will leverage its traditional business advantages and collaborate with its parent company’s ecosystem to provide a wide range of application scenarios for the stablecoin.

The Kaia public chain plans to collaborate with super applications such as Kakao Pay and LINE NEXT to launch a Korean won stablecoin, achieving integrated cross-chain and cross-platform circulation of "on-chain + social + payment."

The established payment service provider Danal has also restarted its digital currency business, submitting multiple patent applications for POS terminals that support virtual asset payments, providing technical support for future stablecoin payment scenarios.

The blockchain startup Nexus has issued a Korean won stablecoin named KRWx on the BNB Chain and has applied for the relevant trademark registration. The company also plans to establish a subsidiary in Hong Kong to promote the internationalization of the stablecoin.

Samsung SDS's Nexledger and LG CNS's CBDC solutions are also seen as potential stablecoin infrastructure providers. These IT giants, with their mature enterprise-level blockchain technology, are expected to play an important role in the stablecoin space.

As the policies become clearer, competition in the South Korean stablecoin market is becoming increasingly fierce. Bank alliances, tech giants, and Web3 companies are all showcasing their strengths, and it remains to be seen who will stand out in this competition.