Analysis: South Korea's Korean Won Stablecoin Faces Uncertainty Due to Onshore Policy Restrictions

BlockBeats News, August 14th: The Bank of Korea has abandoned its central bank digital currency pilot and shifted to stablecoins issued by the private sector, triggering accelerated efforts by fintech companies and banks. KakaoBank is considering entering the issuance and custody business, while Upbit and Naver Pay are collaborating to develop payment-type tokens to narrow the local and global crypto price gap. However, due to longstanding restrictions on "onshore" Korean won transactions, overseas institutions cannot directly exchange Korean won abroad. Korean won stablecoins can only be used for KYC addresses connected to Korea, hindering cross-border settlement.

Analysts believe that this token lacks a payment efficiency advantage in the local instant and free transfer system, with its main application likely limited to domestic scenarios. (CoinDesk)