Kaia unveils design blueprint for won-denominated stablecoin, proposing technical standards based on PoC with commercial banks

Kaia has unveiled a technical design blueprint aimed at introducing a won-denominated stablecoin.

The Kaia DLT Foundation said on the 2nd that it has released an architecture proposal covering the full lifecycle of a won stablecoin—from issuance and settlement to distribution.

The proposal was drafted based on a proof of concept (PoC) conducted with domestic commercial banks. Kaia said it validated technical applicability through real-world financial scenarios such as cross-border remittances, offline payments, and intercompany settlement.

In the PoC, Kaia cut settlement time for overseas remittances versus conventional SWIFT-based transfers to under three minutes from 1–3 business days. It also reduced costs to under KRW 1,250 from about KRW 9,600, and lowered the number of intermediary banks to zero from 2–4.

The proposal encompasses key elements required to roll out a stablecoin, including the roles and responsibilities of issuers, the structure for managing reserve assets, anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-transaction (KYT) frameworks, a multisig-based security architecture, retail payments and intercompany settlement, and cross-border remittances as use cases.

The design was co-authored by the K-STAR Alliance, with participation from Lambda256, AhnLab Blockchain Company, and Open Asset.

Kaia is also expanding its stablecoin business across major Asian markets. It is pursuing cooperation with local governments and financial institutions in Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and is expanding payment infrastructure through a messenger-based user network and support for USDT payments at Visa merchants.

Seo Sang-min, chairman of the Kaia DLT Foundation, said, “Stablecoins are an area where regulation and technology must evolve together,” adding, “At a time when legislative discussions are under way, it is important to propose technical standards.” He added, “We will build out ready-to-deploy infrastructure in preparation for the launch of a won-denominated stablecoin.”