{"id":40896,"date":"2025-08-07T06:16:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T06:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=40896"},"modified":"2025-08-07T06:16:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T06:16:51","slug":"with-south-koreas-cbdc-plans-dead-kakaobank-joins-stablecoin-gold-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=40896","title":{"rendered":"With South Korea&#8217;s CBDC Plans Dead, KakaoBank Joins Stablecoin Gold Rush"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>KakaoBank is preparing to enter South Korea\u2019s fast-growing stablecoin sector, <a href=\"https:\/\/zdnet.co.kr\/view\/?no=20250806103219\">according to local reports.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In its first-half earnings call on Tuesday, KakaoBank CFO Kwon Tae-hoon said the firm is \u201cactively considering\u201d roles in both stablecoin issuance and custody, with participation aligned to the country\u2019s shifting digital asset policies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe plan to engage actively in line with market changes,\u201d Kwon said, adding that KakaoBank\u2019s internal task force is working with other Kakao units to consolidate strategy.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Join the crypto policy conversation Sept. 10 in D.C. \u2014 Register now for<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/policy-regulation.coindesk.com\/?utm_campaign=CDPR_Editorial_Plug&amp;utm_content=cdpr26&amp;utm_medium=marketing&amp;utm_source=Article&amp;utm_term=organic&amp;utm_id=cdpr26\">CoinDesk: Policy &amp; Regulation<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The move adds a regulated online bank to the list of Korean fintechs jumping into the stablecoin race after the Bank of Korea (BOK) shelved its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot in June.<\/p>\n<p>The project, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/policy\/2025\/06\/30\/bank-of-korea-halts-cbdc-project-as-government-submits-stablecoin-bill-report\">CoinDesk previously reported<\/a> had reached the testing phase with commercial banks and abruptly halted after President Lee Jae-myung\u2019s administration submitted legislation enabling the local issuance of stablecoins.<\/p>\n<p>Kwon emphasized KakaoBank\u2019s technical readiness, noting the firm had participated in both phases of the now-cancelled BOK pilot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe built and operated wallets and handled exchanges and transfers,\u201d he said, pointing to operational experience most firms in the sector can\u2019t yet claim.<\/p>\n<p>He also cited three years of compliance work issuing real-name accounts for crypto exchanges, giving the bank a head start in implementing the kind of KYC and AML frameworks regulators are likely to demand for fiat-pegged tokens.<\/p>\n<p>KakaoBank is part of a weekly stablecoin-focused task force within the Kakao ecosystem, working alongside KakaoPay and the parent group. CEOs Chung Shin-ah (Kakao), Shin Won-keun (KakaoPay), and Yoon Ho-young (KakaoBank) are leading the initiative.<\/p>\n<p>The stablecoin pivot has ignited a wave of speculation and retail activity in Korea\u2019s markets. Circle stock, which went public in June, became the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/markets\/2025\/06\/27\/circle-mania-grips-south-korea-as-retail-investors-pile-into-stablecoin-play\">most-purchased foreign equity<\/a> among Korean retail investors.<\/p>\n<p>This move is happening in parallel Hong Kong&#8217;s stablecoin plans, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/policy\/2025\/07\/08\/over-40-firms-prepping-for-hong-kong-stablecoin-license-applications-report\">where local firms are lining up<\/a> to get an issuance license after interest in the People&#8217;s Bank of China&#8217;s CBDC failed to materialize.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KakaoBank is preparing to enter South Korea\u2019s fast-growing stablecoin sector, according to local reports. In its first-half earnings call on Tuesday, KakaoBank CFO Kwon Tae-hoon said the firm is \u201cactively considering\u201d roles in both stablecoin issuance and custody, with participation aligned to the country\u2019s shifting digital asset policies. \u201cWe plan to engage actively in line [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-40896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}