KakaoBank accelerates the development of a stablecoin pegged to the South Korean won, bringing together developer hires, trademark registrations and financial partnerships. The advance occurs under an undefined regulatory framework that may alter timelines, oversight and issuer responsibilities, positioning KakaoBank inside a rapidly forming competitive race for KRW-pegged digital assets.
A bank-issued won stablecoin backed by trademarks, technical hiring and tokenization plans
KakaoBank is progressing toward issuing a won-backed stablecoin, temporarily referred to as “Kakao Coin”. Trademark filings including BKRW and KRWB, alongside active recruitment of blockchain developers, signal the consolidation of technical infrastructure for issuance and distribution.
The bank aims to integrate the token with its more than 23 million users and expand toward tokenized products such as STOs via partnerships with Korea Investment & Securities and Lucent Block. The initiative rests on a stablecoin model designed to maintain parity with fiat currency and reduce volatility relative to other crypto assets.
Previous international expansion supports the execution path: KakaoBank has already entered Thailand through cooperation with SCBX. This background suggests operational experience in scaling financial products and collaborating across jurisdictions.
The supervisory debate remains unresolved in South Korea. The Bank of Korea advocates for majority bank control over stablecoin issuers, while the Financial Services Commission maintains its own regulatory stance, delaying clarity until at least 2025.
Market signals show activity and increasing competition. Analysts estimate stablecoin flows near 60 billion won, while Naver Financial and Dunamu merge in a 20 billion-won deal, the Solana Foundation and Wavebridge develop their own KRW product, the Kaia network explores a stablecoin, and a consortium of eight banks targets issuance by 2025–2026.
For traders and treasuries, the impact could be direct. A regulated bank-issued stablecoin may reduce payment friction and improve fiat ramping while enabling tokenized financial products, although undefined rules introduce compliance and operational risk.
KakaoBank has secured brands, talent and strategic partners to issue a KRW stablecoin. However, realization depends on regulatory clarity and competitive outcomes that will shape custody, governance and network distribution.