Bank of Korea renews call for bank-led won stablecoins as bill stalls

The Bank of Korea proposed a bank-led consortium and a statutory interagency body for issuer approvals, citing the US GENIUS Act as a model, according to local media.

South Korea’s central bank has reportedly renewed its push to keep Korean won-pegged stablecoin issuance in the hands of commercial banks, warning lawmakers that privately issued digital tokens could undermine monetary policy and create new foreign-exchange and financial-stability risks.

In a report submitted to South Korea’s National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee, the Bank of Korea (BOK) described won stablecoins as “currency-like substitutes” and said their introduction must account not only for industrial benefits but also for monetary policy, foreign exchange stability and financial risks, according to local reporting. 

The central bank reiterated concerns that stablecoins could be used to bypass foreign exchange regulations, including prior reporting requirements, and argued that allowing non-bank entities to issue them independently could conflict with Korea’s separation of banking and commerce principles. 

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