Kyobo Life, Japan’s SBI Verify Stablecoin-Based Korea-Japan Institutional Fund Transfer Pilot

Kyobo Life said on Sept. 17 that it had become the first insurer in South Korea to verify a structure for institutional fund transfers between South Korea and Japan using stablecoins with Japan’s SBI Group.

Kyobo Life and SBI Group recently completed the Korea-Japan Stablecoin-Based Cross-Border Proof-of-Concept Project, which began in July. The pilot used a test environment on Canton Network, a blockchain platform for financial institutions.

The two companies tested a structure that directly exchanged a yen-based stablecoin for a won-based stablecoin when transferring funds from Japan to South Korea. Previously, such transfers required converting yen into US dollars and then into won. In the pilot, the dollar was removed as an intermediary currency.

Using test tokens instead of actual funds, the companies verified the structure and confirmed the potential to shorten processing times for blockchain-based cross-border transfers and reduce costs by cutting intermediate foreign-exchange steps. They also checked whether transaction data could be viewed and tracked in real time.

The companies also verified an operating model for safely processing in South Korea digital assets transferred from overseas and related settlement funds. Based on the results, they plan to continue working together in Web3 finance, including by linking digital-asset foreign exchange and asset management between South Korea and Japan and exploring new business models based on real transaction structures.

A Kyobo Life official said the pilot confirmed the technical feasibility and efficiency of using stablecoins and blockchain for cross-border institutional fund transfers. Kyobo Life plans to expand cooperation with SBI Group and respond proactively to changes in Web3 financial infrastructure.