Eight South Korean commercial banks, two of Asia's largest tech conglomerates, and at least three global blockchain networks are simultaneously building won-denominated stablecoin infrastructure targeting a combined cardholder base of over 28 million users. In the last seven days alone, Shinhan C...
"This is what regulatory agencies are supposed to do: draw clear lines in clear terms." — Paul S. Atkins, SEC Chairman
Eight South Korean commercial banks, two of Asia's largest tech conglomerates, and at least three global blockchain networks are simultaneously building won-denominated stablecoin infrastructure targeting a combined cardholder base of over 28 million users. In the last seven days alone, Shinhan Card signed a stablecoin payment MoU with the Solana Foundation (April 30), KBank launched a cross-border remittance proof-of-concept with Ripple (April 27), and Naver Financial and Dunamu confirmed a May 22 shareholder vote on their $13.8 billion merger — a deal explicitly designed to accelerate won-stablecoin issuance on Dunamu's custom Ethereum Layer-2 chain, GIWA.
The activity is concentrated in South Korea but extends across a Japan-Korea corridor backed by MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho through Project Pax, which targets 1 trillion yen (~$6.7 billion) in B2B stablecoin issuance by 2028. No KRW-pegged stablecoin has received regulatory approval as of April 2026. The Digital Asset Basic Act remains stalled over a dispute between the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission on who may issue stablecoins. The infrastructure is being built ahead of the rules.
On April 30, 2026, Shinhan Card Vice President Kim Young-il and Solana Foundation Asia-Pacific lead Lu Yin signed a strategic MoU at Shinhan Card's Seoul headquarters to jointly develop stablecoin payment technology on Solana's network. The agreement was architected at the principal level by Shinhan Card CEO Park Chang-hoon and Solana Foundation President Lily Liu throughout 2025, according to The Korea Herald.
Shinhan Card is South Korea's largest credit card issuer by active accounts, with over 28 million cardholders. The MoU follows completion, on April 9, of a six-project proof of concept covering:
The next phase moves to the Solana testnet, where Shinhan will simulate real payment flows between customers and merchants. The technical evaluation focuses on transaction throughput, settlement finality, and non-custodial wallet stability. If commercial deployment follows, Shinhan's card infrastructure could route stablecoin-settled transactions to its 28 million-user base without requiring those users to interact with blockchain directly.
The economic question is fee compression. Traditional card networks charge merchants 1.5%–3.0% per transaction. Solana's median transaction fee is fractions of a cent. The margin between those two numbers is the value at stake.
Three days before the Shinhan-Solana signing, on April 27, KBank — South Korea's largest digital-only bank — signed a proof-of-concept agreement with Ripple for on-chain cross-border remittances. KBank serves as the exclusive banking partner for Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Every Korean trader who buys or sells crypto on Upbit moves funds through a KBank account.
The PoC targets two specific corridors: Korea-to-UAE and Korea-to-Thailand. According to CoinDesk, Phase 2 is underway, with KBank linking customer accounts to its internal banking systems and testing on-chain transfer stability. KBank has replaced its in-house wallet with Ripple's Palisade, a bank-grade SaaS digital wallet Ripple acquired in November 2025.
The settlement mechanism does not use XRP. In these corridors, the settlement asset is a stablecoin, sent across Ripple's blockchain infrastructure and converted to local currency on the receiving end. A KBank user sees a won balance, selects a recipient in the UAE or Thailand, and the backend handles the stablecoin conversion, transfer, and off-ramp.
KBank's position as Upbit's banking partner gives this PoC outsized significance. The bank already processes the fiat on/off-ramp for Korea's dominant crypto exchange. Adding cross-border stablecoin settlement means KBank could become both the domestic crypto gateway and the international stablecoin bridge — two functions that, in most markets, are handled by separate entities.
Beyond individual partnerships, a consortium of eight major Korean commercial banks announced joint development of a won-pegged stablecoin in mid-2025. The members are:
| Bank | Type | Notable Position | |------|------|-----------------| | KB Kookmin | Commercial | Korea's largest bank by assets | | Shinhan | Commercial | Largest card issuer | | Woori | Commercial | KRW1 escrow partner | | NH NongHyup | Agricultural cooperative | Project Pax participant | | IBK Industrial | Policy bank | SME lending focus | | SH Suhyup | Cooperative | Marine/fisheries sector | | Hana | Commercial | Joined consortium in 2026 | | SC First Bank | Foreign-owned | Standard Chartered subsidiary |
The consortium is evaluating two stablecoin models: a trust-based structure where customer funds are held separately by custodians, and a deposit-token format where each token is backed 1:1 by bank deposits. Both models require reserves held exclusively in low-risk instruments — bank deposits or government bonds — with 100% of outstanding reserves placed under independent custodian management.
Target launch was late 2025 to early 2026. It has not launched. The delay is regulatory, not technical.
Separately, BDACS launched KRW1 on Avalanche in September 2025 — the first fully collateralized won-backed stablecoin, with each token backed 1:1 by Korean won held in escrow at Woori Bank. KRW1 operates outside the regulatory perimeter, as does KRWQ, issued by IQ and Frax for global DeFi markets.
Naver Financial announced a $10.3 billion all-stock acquisition of Dunamu (Upbit's parent company) in November 2025. The combined entity is valued at approximately $13.8 billion (20 trillion won). A shareholder vote is scheduled for May 22, 2026, with the deal expected to close by June 30.
The stablecoin relevance is direct. Dunamu has built GIWA, a custom Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain designed explicitly for stablecoins and payments. The merger thesis, according to a joint Dunamu-Naver press release, includes integrating Naver Pay's payment infrastructure with GIWA to accelerate won-backed stablecoin adoption.
If the merger closes:
Toss is not sitting idle. In March 2026, Toss declared at the Blockchain Meetup Conference in Seoul that it intends to both issue and distribute stablecoins, positioning itself as a direct competitor to the Naver-Dunamu combine.
Project Pax is the most concrete example of cross-border stablecoin infrastructure in Asia. Launched by Progmat and Datachain, it connects Korean banks (Shinhan Bank, KBank, NH NongHyup Bank) with Japanese institutions (Shoko Chukin Bank) and is backed by Japan's three megabanks — MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho.
Phase 1 results, verified in late 2025:
The stated goal is explicit: regional Asian economies routing trade and remittances without the U.S. dollar as an intermediary. Korea-Japan bilateral trade exceeds $80 billion annually. Japan is Korea's third-largest trading partner.
On the Japanese side, the infrastructure is further along. JPYC became the world's first fully regulated yen-pegged stablecoin under a Type II license in October 2025. SBI Holdings and Startale Group followed with JPYSC — a trust bank-backed yen stablecoin managed by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank, targeting Q2 2026 launch under Japan's Type III electronic payment instrument framework. Project Pax targets 1 trillion yen (~$6.7 billion) in B2B stablecoin issuance by 2028.
Phase 2 will focus on real-time interoperability through integration with the SWIFT network and expanding use cases to low-value remittances. FairsquareLab and Chainlink are technical partners for cross-chain transfer verification.
The Digital Asset Basic Act — South Korea's comprehensive framework for crypto trading and issuance — remains stalled as of April 2026. The central dispute, according to Korea TechDesk and CoinDesk:
Bank of Korea position: Only entities with 51% or greater bank ownership should be permitted to issue stablecoins. Banks are already subject to solvency and AML requirements, making them the only appropriate issuers.
Financial Services Commission position: A strict 51% ownership rule would block fintech firms with technical expertise from participating, stifling competition. The FSC advocates a more flexible licensing approach.
The practical effect: No KRW-pegged stablecoin has received regulatory approval. The eight-bank consortium, Naver-Dunamu's GIWA plans, and Toss's stablecoin ambitions all await resolution. Meanwhile, infrastructure development continues on testnets and in PoC environments.
Reserve requirements under the proposed framework mandate:
Officials initially targeted passage during an extraordinary National Assembly session in January 2026. That deadline has passed. No new timeline has been publicly confirmed.
The economic value at stake spans multiple layers:
Fee compression: Korea's card payment market processes trillions of won annually through networks charging 1.5%–3.0% per transaction. Blockchain-based settlement could compress merchant fees to near zero at the protocol level, though intermediaries will capture margin in compliance, custody, and conversion services.
Cross-border savings: Traditional Korea-Japan remittances through SWIFT involve correspondent banking fees, FX spreads, and 1–3 day settlement times. Project Pax's Phase 1 demonstrated same-day settlement at lower cost. At $80+ billion in annual bilateral trade, even basis-point improvements in settlement costs represent hundreds of millions in savings.
Infrastructure rents: The competition between Solana (Shinhan), Ripple (KBank), Ethereum L2/GIWA (Naver-Dunamu), and Avalanche (BDACS/KRW1) for Korea's stablecoin settlement layer will determine which network captures validator fees, MEV, and ecosystem lock-in. This is a multi-chain market with no clear winner.
Regulatory premium: Whichever entities receive stablecoin issuance licenses first will have a first-mover advantage in a market of 52 million people with one of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates. The BOK-FSC deadlock is effectively a competition between banks and fintechs for that regulatory premium.
South Korea is building stablecoin payment infrastructure at a pace that exceeds its regulatory framework. The pattern — PoCs completed, MoUs signed, mergers structured, cross-border corridors tested — follows a deliberate sequence: prove the technology works, then lobby for the rules that permit commercial deployment.
The question is not whether Korean won stablecoins will exist. BDACS's KRW1 already exists on Avalanche. The question is whether the eight-bank consortium, the Naver-Dunamu combine, or an independent fintech like Toss will capture the regulated issuance license that unlocks domestic payment rails for 52 million Koreans.
Japan's stablecoin infrastructure — with JPYC already licensed and JPYSC targeting Q2 2026 launch — is 12–18 months ahead. Project Pax connects the two. If both sides achieve regulated stablecoin issuance, the Korea-Japan corridor becomes the first bilateral fiat stablecoin settlement channel between two G7-adjacent economies, processing a portion of $80+ billion in annual trade without dollar intermediation.
The infrastructure is being laid. The regulation is not. That gap is where the risk sits.