Korean Banks and Tech Firms Expand Digital Asset Projects Despite Regulatory Delays

• Korean banks and technology firms continue expanding digital asset projects despite delayed cryptocurrency regulations.
• Institutions are advancing stablecoin pilots, blockchain settlement networks, and cross-border payment infrastructure.
• Firms are preparing tokenized securities and treasury systems ahead of South Korea's 2027 regulatory framework.

Major Korean banks, corporations, exchanges, and technology companies have continued expanding digital asset infrastructure despite repeated delays to the Korean Digital Asset Basic Act. According to SungMo Park at a16z crypto, institutions are advancing pilots, partnerships, and settlement networks before final regulations define stablecoin issuance and crypto exchange ownership structures.

Firms Move While Rules Remain Pending

According to SungMo Park, Korea's regulatory debate continues between the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission. The Bank of Korea supports bank-led stablecoin issuance, while the Financial Services Commission favors a broader framework.

Despite that uncertainty, several companies have continued building digital asset infrastructure. Naver announced a $10.3 billion agreement to acquire the operator of Korea's largest crypto exchange, although regulatory uncertainty has delayed the transaction.

Meanwhile, KB Financial completed a pilot involving a won-backed stablecoin. According to SungMo Park, the trial included issuance, merchant payments through QR codes in Seoul, and cross-border remittances to Vietnam completed within minutes.

Banks And Corporations Expand Digital Asset Projects

As activity continued, more institutions launched blockchain initiatives. Hyundai Motors demonstrated stablecoin use for treasury operations across global subsidiaries. Kakao has also assembled a banking consortium around a won-backed token. Meanwhile, Toss is testing a similar product across its user network.

According to SungMo Park, Hana's $670 million investment and Samsung's $408 million investment placed both companies inside Upbit, Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange. These investments occurred before lawmakers finalized the digital asset framework.

Focus Turns To Cross-Border Infrastructure

According to SungMo Park, institutions are increasingly prioritizing interoperability between domestic payment networks and global stablecoin systems. Banks are preparing settlement and remittance infrastructure connecting local won instruments with dollar-based stablecoins.

Capital markets firms are also preparing tokenized securities infrastructure before amendments to the Capital Markets Act take effect in 2027. Meanwhile, corporate treasury teams are evaluating stablecoins for international treasury management and cross-border payments.

SungMo Park added that Korea's approach combines domestic won-based infrastructure with access to global dollar liquidity. He also identified settlement, issuance, custody, distribution, and cross-border treasury as the main strategic roles institutions continue evaluating while regulatory discussions remain underway.

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