South Korea · Decrypt
Bank of Korea Scales Up CBDC Pilot With Half a Million Users
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South Korea's Bank of Korea ran a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, pilot for three months last year.
Key facts
- Phase 1 ran from April to June 2025 with seven banks and 12,000 merchants producing 114,880 transactions
- Hana Bank, meanwhile, has started designing systems for a won-backed stablecoin—a privately issued digital token pegged 1:1 to the Korean won—ahead of legislation that has been at the center
- South Korea's new Bank of Korea Governor, Shin Hyun-song, made Project Hangang a centerpiece of his first policy address after taking office in April 2026
- Joining the original seven banks—KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, Nonghyup, Industrial Bank of Korea, and BNK Busan—are Gyeongnam Bank and iM Bank
Summary
The Bank of Korea will launch Phase 2 of its CBDC pilot in September, expanding to nine banks and a cap of 500,000 users for live deposit token testing. Phase 1 (April–June 2025) processed 114,880 transactions across 81,000 wallets. Phase 2 adds biometric payments, person-to-person transfers, and real government subsidy disbursements. The next phase of its CBDC push starts in September—with nine banks involved, up to 500,000 users spending the tokens, and real government money on the line this time.