How Samsung, Kakao, and Naver Are Powering Korea’s Stablecoin Push

Key Takeaways

• South Korea’s large holding companies are rushing to spouse with tech giants similar Samsung successful the aftermath of upcoming stablecoin regulations.

• The country’s fiscal regulator is expected to present a caller stablecoin measure earlier the extremity of 2025.

• Once approved, the stablecoin measure could pave the waysouth for backstage entities and banks to woody with regulated won-pegged stablecoins.

South Korea’s fiscal heavyweights are teaming up with the country’s biggest tech firms to get up successful what could go Asia’s astir ambitious stablecoin race.

With stablecoin regulations acceptable to onshore by year’s end, large holding companies similar KB, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori are scrambling to onslaught partnerships with platforms specified arsenic Samsung Electronics, Naver, and Kakao.

The goal: to motorboat the country’s archetypal won-pegged stablecoins earlier regulators unfastened the floodgates.

The contention began erstwhile South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) revealed plans to present a broad stablecoin measure to the National Assembly by the extremity of 2025.

If passed, the authorities would formally legalize won-backed stablecoins and let banks to contented oregon co-issue them with backstage partners.

It would besides merge six abstracted parliamentary proposals already successful question — covering licensing, reserves, and hazard absorption — into 1 cohesive framework.

President Lee Jae-myung’s medication has been vocal astir encouraging regulated stablecoins arsenic portion of a broader “crypto competitiveness” agenda.

Officials spot them arsenic a mode to modernize Korea’s fiscal infrastructure portion maintaining power implicit nationalist liquidity.

For banks, gathering blockchain and outgo infrastructure from scratch could instrumentality years.

That’s wherever Korea’s tech titans travel in.

“Under these circumstances, alliances with large tech firms are considered essential,” 1 manufacture authoritative said, “since it would instrumentality banks sizeable clip to make the indispensable exertion connected their own. Tech giants, connected the different hand, already person beardown level ecosystems and are champion positioned to unafraid applicable usage cases erstwhile stablecoins are issued.”

These partnerships are already taking shape:

• KB Kookmin Bank has filed implicit 17 trademarks for a “KB KRW” stablecoin and acceptable up a dedicated stablecoin division.

• Shinhan Financial Group is piloting a won-backed coin connected its in-house transportation app and investigating planetary payments done SBJ Bank successful Japan and Shinhan Vietnam Bank.

• Hana Financial Group has launched a Digital Asset Task Force to coordinate its affiliates nether Chairman Ham Young-joo’s supervision.

• Woori Financial Group is leveraging its long-standing narration with Samsung Electronics, collaborating connected Samsung Wallet, wherever Woori Bank operates the wallet’s wealth and points system.