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Financial authorities likely to grant approvals to 2~3 won-coin consortia
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- The financial sector said it expects 2~3 consortia to receive approval to issue won stablecoins.
- The government said it will first allow issuance by bank-centered consortia and will also recognize technology companies' largest shareholder status.
- The financial authorities said they plan to pursue designation of virtual asset exchanges as core infrastructure, major shareholder suitability reviews, and ownership dispersion.
- The article was summarized using an artificial intelligence-based language model.
- Due to the nature of the technology, key content in the text may be excluded or different from the facts.
Issuance approval expected only by year-end
As the government's draft of the Basic Act on Digital Assets comes into view, the financial sector has begun positioning itself to secure the title of 'first issuer of a won-denominated stablecoin.' The financial sector expects, based on precedent, that 2~3 consortia will receive approval to issue stablecoins.
According to the financial sector on the 6th, the government's draft of the Basic Act on Digital Assets is expected to be proposed as early as this month through Kang Jun-hyun, the ruling party's representative on the National Assembly's Financial Services Committee. The industry says that even if the basic law is proposed, it is likely to take more than a year for it to pass the National Assembly and be implemented. In that case, approval for issuing won-denominated stablecoins is expected to come around the end of the year.
Many expect that approval for issuing won-denominated stablecoins will follow the precedent of internet bank licensing. Since the government announced internet bank licensing measures in 2015, only three institutions have received licenses. K-Bank and KakaoBank were established in 2016, and Toss Bank launched in 2021. Last year, four consortia that vied for the 'fourth internet bank' were all rejected in the financial authorities' review.
The government has settled on allowing issuance of won-denominated stablecoins starting with 'bank-centered (shareholding 50%+1 share) consortia.' In the initial phase of stablecoin introduction, the plan is to permit bank-centered consortia while recognizing technology companies such as Naver and Kakao as maximum shareholders. The government also plans to form an interagency consultative body including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Bank of Korea to discuss stablecoin systems and policies.
The financial authorities plan to designate virtual asset exchanges as the 'core infrastructure' of distribution and to establish a governance framework through major shareholder suitability reviews. They will also pursue ownership dispersion that limits major shareholder stakes to 15~20%. The introduction of no-fault liability for damages and punitive fines (sales 10%) in the event of a virtual asset exchange hacking incident is also being seriously considered.
Seo Hyeong-kyo/Jo Mi-hyun reporters seogyo@hankyung.com
