Naver Financial announced the launch of a stablecoin wallet in Busan in collaboration with Hashed and the Busan Digital Asset Exchange (BDAN), with local reach and planned deployment by the end of 2025. The project seeks to digitize the local currency “Dongbaek-jeon” and modernize payments for 1.5 million monthly users, aligning product design with existing payment behavior. The announcement situates Naver within a broader stablecoin and crypto strategy that could alter payment flows and prompt regulatory responses, underscoring the growing relevance of digital-money infrastructure.
Naver Financial launches stablecoin wallet amid broader digital-money strategy
The wallet, dubbed “Bidan Jumoni” (silk pouch), is being developed to facilitate everyday payments in Busan by integrating Web3 technology with existing payment infrastructure. The proposal digitizes the Dongbaek-jeon and targets seamless use across local merchants, from markets to everyday consumer establishments, emphasizing practical utility for residents and businesses. The plan contemplates phased implementation with a goal of full deployment in December 2025, aligning technical rollout with merchant adoption and user onboarding.
Stablecoin (definición técnica breve): a stablecoin is a digital token designed to maintain a stable value pegged to a reference currency or asset. The initiative combines Naver Financial’s distribution capacity with Hashed’s digital-asset expertise and BDAN’s local infrastructure, formalized through a memorandum of understanding. Presented as a local experiment, the project is positioned as a laboratory for larger-scale payment solutions, with governance and infrastructure choices intended to inform future expansion.
The operation in Busan is part of a broader corporate strategy that includes talks about a potential acquisition of Dunamu, operator of the Upbit exchange. A possible Naver–Dunamu integration would fuse a dominant crypto exchange with a payments network that processes ₩80 trillion annually, according to reports. Upbit controls about 80% of the South Korean crypto market, and if the transaction materializes, it would create direct synergy between the exchange’s liquidity and Naver Pay’s user base, consolidating reach across trading and retail payments.
Outside Korea, the move aligns with a wave of developments integrating wallets and stablecoins into digital value chains, where payment platforms embed native stablecoins, remittance firms explore token-based settlement, and issuers consolidate custody and wallet layers to control digital-money infrastructure. For investors and compliance departments, the operation raises concrete issues including interoperability between payment systems and exchanges, custody of reserves, KYC/AML requirements, and the potential need for new licenses depending on regulatory evolution. Creating a won-backed stablecoin will require traceability in reserve management and transparency in token governance to mitigate market and reputational risks, making oversight and reporting central to adoption.
Naver’s initiative in Busan merges a local pilot with long-term expansion objectives, positioning the company at the intersection of digital payments, stablecoins, and exchange infrastructure. Its success will depend on the operational timeline and the regulatory response in the coming months.