South Korea's CBDC Project Hits Pause as Stablecoins Take Center Stage

Central Bank Shifts Focus to Won-Backed Digital Tokens

Hold onto your hats, crypto fans! South Korea's central bank has slammed the brakes on its digital currency project, throwing all its energy into fast-tracking the launch of won-backed stablecoins. That's right, folks, the Bank of Korea is hitting the reset button on its cashless future plans.

Word on the street, courtesy of a hush-hush source at the Bank of Korea, is that they've iced the second round of their CBDC pilot. This was supposed to kick off in the last quarter of 2025, but now it's on ice. Can you believe it?

Rumor has it, the banks got the memo and discussions are on pause. The bigwigs are rethinking the whole CBDC game, shifting gears to clamp down on private stablecoin creators. It's a wild pivot, but that's how it goes in the world of crypto!

The Bank of Korea was all set to ramp up its CBDC trials under the snazzy name "Project Han River." They started this show earlier this year with a crew of seven banks, but now it's all up in the air.

The next phase was supposed to be all about peer-to-peer transfers and paying merchants. But hold up—banks started grumbling about the hefty price tag and the lack of a solid plan to make a buck. Now, the central bank's scratching its head about what's next.

Instead of chasing the CBDC dream, they're keeping a close eye on a new law that's aiming to set the rules for Korean won-based stablecoins. This Digital Asset Basic Act is the talk of the town, laying out the red tape for issuers, from how to manage reserves to keeping users safe.

This move is straight out of President Lee Jae-myung's playbook. Since he took the reins just this month, he's been all about speeding up stablecoin development. It's his big financial play, and he's not messing around.

His team's pushing for rules that would let companies with just ₩500 million ($370,000) in their pockets start issuing stablecoins, as long as the regulators give the green light.

The Democratic Party's top dogs are saying it's crucial to roll out these won-based stablecoins to keep South Korea's money game strong. They're worried that if we keep leaning on U.S. dollar-pegged assets like USDT and USDC, we might lose control over our own financial future.

These foreign stablecoins racked up over ₩57 trillion ($42 billion) in trading during the first few months of 2025. It's a big deal, and the party's not playing around.

Min Byeong-deok, the head honcho of the Digital Asset Committee, is sounding the alarm. He's saying if we don't move fast, Korea could fall behind in the race for stablecoin supremacy. He's betting big that the market for these digital tokens could outstrip even AI and semiconductors, and he wants rules that help the good guys issue them.

And guess what? The banks aren't sitting on their hands. Eight of the biggest names in the game, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, and Nonghyup, are teaming up to launch their own KRW-pegged stablecoin. It's on, people!