BDACS, a South Korean cryptocurrency custody company, announced the launch of KRW1, the first stablecoin fully backed by the South Korean won and built on the Avalanche blockchain. The project is still in the proof-of-concept (PoC) phase and has not been released for public circulation due to the lack of clear regulations for stablecoins in the country.
Second statement Each KRW1 unit is backed by won reserves held at Woori Bank, one of South Korea's largest financial institutions. Real-time banking API integration allows for transparent and verifiable proof of reserves. BDACS emphasized that Avalanche was chosen for its reliability and security for institutional-scale applications.
"The launch goes far beyond token issuance," the company stated. "BDACS has developed a comprehensive framework, including issuance and management systems, as well as a user-facing application that supports peer-to-peer transfers and transaction verification."
The company's plan is to position KRW1 as a stablecoin for global use in remittances, payments, investments, and deposits. BDACS also intends to apply the digital currency to public systems, such as emergency disbursement settlements. Furthermore, it plans to expand interoperability with other blockchains and seek integration with dollar-denominated stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.
Despite the technical advancement, KRW1 remains restricted to the PoC environment to avoid violating local regulations. Currently, South Korea does not yet have a defined regulatory framework for stablecoins, although the government is in the process of developing one. President Lee Jae Myung supports the creation of digital currencies pegged to the won as a strategy to strengthen monetary sovereignty in the digital finance context.
While the central bank maintains that only licensed banking institutions can issue stablecoins, several local financial institutions are already preparing for this market, including filing trademark applications related to ticker symbols.
"While large technology companies may eventually enter the market, KRW1 is already operational with strong institutional support from Woori Bank and global blockchain partners," BDACS stated. "This combination provides a deep infrastructure that large technology companies alone cannot match."