Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Bank of Korea Pushes Bank-First Stablecoin Model and Calls for New Oversight Body

To protect consumers and financial stability, the central bank wants issuance kept to banks and plans to scale tokenized deposit pilots for government payments.

Overview

  • The Bank of Korea formally told the National Assembly finance committee it favors won-denominated stablecoins issued by bank-led consortiums and restated that position in documents submitted to lawmakers.
  • The central bank proposed creating a statutory coordinating body to bring financial regulators and government agencies together to oversee stablecoin issuance and the wider digital-asset sector.
  • The BOK said it will expand deposit-token pilots in the second half of the year for uses such as government subsidy payments, public vouchers and electric-vehicle charging services.
  • South Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act remains stalled because lawmakers disagree over whether non-bank firms should be allowed to issue stablecoins and external factors have delayed the legislative timetable.
  • The Ministry of Economy and Finance has separately launched a pilot to use tokenized bank deposits for government spending, a sign that tokenized payment projects will continue even as legal rules are unresolved.