KRWQ adds South Korean government bonds held by Shinhan Securities as reserve assets

IQ said on the 25th that its won-denominated stablecoin, “KRWQ,” has purchased South Korean government bonds held by Shinhan Securities as reserve assets.

The bonds were tokenized through EtherFuse’s “Stablebond” framework and are being custody-held by Shinhan Securities.

KRWQ is a won-denominated stablecoin issued by IQ, designed with a transparent reserve-asset structure, on-chain interoperability and cross-border liquidity in mind. Frax is participating as a stablecoin infrastructure partner, and the cash flows and fees generated by KRWQ accrue to the IQ token.

Through this inclusion of government bonds, KRWQ has built a structure that directly links blockchain-based won liquidity with South Korea’s domestic government bond market. In particular, by being backed by government bonds held by Shinhan Securities, it has strengthened the credibility of its reserve assets, the company said. It added that as demand for stablecoin payments expands, demand for high-quality reserve assets is also expected to rise.

Shinhan Securities is not involved in the issuance structure, pricing, sale or distribution of the KRWQ stablecoin or EtherFuse-issued Stablebonds. It also does not provide guarantees or investment solicitations for these products, and does not directly participate in KRWQ’s operation or custody administration. The KRWQ stablecoin and EtherFuse Stablebonds are not offered or sold in South Korea, and subscriptions or trading targeting domestic investors are also not permitted.

Dave Shin, KRWQ’s chief operating officer (COO), said, “KRWQ was designed with the goal of becoming a trusted won payment asset backed by transparent, high-quality reserve assets,” adding, “By purchasing tokenized South Korean government bonds issued via EtherFuse and held by Shinhan Securities, we have strengthened reserve-asset stability and built a structure directly linked to the sovereign bonds that underpin Korea’s capital markets.”

Navin Bethanayagam, IQ’s chief strategy officer (Chief Brain), said, “KRWQ is the first won stablecoin to hold tokenized South Korean government bonds as part of its reserves,” adding, “By integrating South Korean government bonds into a blockchain-based reserve-asset structure, we created new structural demand for Korean government bonds and connected it to global digital capital markets.”