![\"null](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-g.v1.20260526.d649321725ef4c34b9869b47cda6f4af_P1.jpg\"\/ "\\"Korean")
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Korean banks are examining the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a reserve asset for won-denominated stablecoins, industry sources said. The move follows the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) suggestion last year that part of the reserves backing won stablecoins could be held in CBDC, prompting banks to assess the feasibility. Analysts say that if the model takes shape, the interdependence and coexistence of CBDC and won stablecoins could deepen.<\/p>\n
According to financial industry sources on Wednesday, several banks including iM Bank have recently reviewed plans to link CBDC-based deposit tokens with won stablecoins. “Legislation related to won stablecoins has yet to be put in place,” an iM Bank official said. “We are aware that a plan to link won stablecoins with CBDC deposit tokens has been proposed, but no concrete internal discussions have begun.”<\/p>\n
Banks are looking into the model because the likelihood of won stablecoins and CBDC operating in parallel in Korea is rising. While institutionalization of won stablecoins has been pursued since last year, the BOK also recently resumed the second-phase test of “Project Han River,” its CBDC deposit token initiative that had been temporarily suspended last year. “Previously, CBDC and won stablecoins were discussed as opposing concepts, but the recent mood has shifted toward parallel development,” a financial industry official said. “Banks preparing both CBDC and won stablecoin businesses appear to be envisioning a so-called ‘hybrid’ model that combines the two.”<\/p>\n
The BOK previously raised the idea in its October white paper titled “Money in the Digital Age, Harmonizing Innovation and Trust: Key Issues and Responses Regarding Won Stablecoins.” The report noted that once a digital currency system centered on the central bank takes shape, it could be linked to external blockchains.<\/p>\n
The core of the concept is including CBDC among the reserve assets backing won stablecoins. Bills related to won stablecoins currently submitted to the National Assembly, as well as legislation being prepared by the government, require issuers to hold highly liquid safe assets such as cash, demand deposits, and short-term treasury bonds as reserves, but CBDC is not separately specified.<\/p>\n
The BOK believes that using CBDC as a reserve asset could enhance the transparency and reliability of won stablecoins. “If part of the reserves backing private won stablecoins is held in CBDC deposit tokens, issuance and redemption procedures can be automated, and the transparency and reliability of reserve holdings can be improved,” the BOK said in the report.<\/p>\n
Some banks are also said to be reviewing plans for proof-of-concept (PoC) testing toward this end. Industry observers note that regional banks in particular have inherent demand for won stablecoins, making the inclusion of CBDC in reserve assets worth serious consideration. Won stablecoins make it easier to verify the destination and flow of funds when local governments execute policy financing, while also offering potential benefits such as lower fees and faster settlement in regional payment and clearing processes.<\/p>\n
Hurdles remain, however, before CBDC can ultimately be incorporated as a reserve asset for won stablecoins. Passage of the Digital Asset Basic Act, which would include regulations on won stablecoins, has been delayed, and the bills currently under review do not explicitly address the matter. Still, since the legislation allows for safe assets equivalent to deposits or treasury bonds to be designated by presidential decree, the issue could be addressed in future discussions. “For won stablecoins, how reserve assets are stored and verified is just as important as who issues them,” a financial industry official said. “A reserve asset management model utilizing deposit tokens could serve as a test case for examining whether CBDC and private stablecoins can operate in parallel within the regulatory framework.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Korean banks are examining the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a reserve asset for won-denominated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[456],"tags":[845,846,1339,1342,11610,4633,19817,19818,14289],"class_list":["post-30285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bank-of-korea","tag-bank-of-korea","tag-bok","tag-cbdc","tag-deposit-token","tag-digital-asset-basic-act","tag-im-bank","tag-project-han-river","tag-reserve-assets","tag-won-stablecoin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}