Bank of Korea stablecoin usage rate only 42%

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

It reported that in the stablecoin project led by the Bank of Korea, the tokens actually used for payment were only 42.1% of the deposits.
It said the low utilization rate was due to a lack of places to use such as cafes·delivery apps and the limitations of banks' quick payment systems.
Ahn Do-geol stressed the need to revise related laws and regulations to allow non-bank entities to participate in the project.

Only KRW 690 million used out of KRW 1.64 billion in deposits

Due to lack of places to use such as cafes·delivery apps

In the stablecoin project led by the Bank of Korea with participation from seven commercial banks, the amount used by ordinary participants was found to be less than half of the deposits. This is because there were too few places to use it, such as cafes·delivery apps.

According to materials Ahn Do-geol, a member of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, received from the Bank of Korea on the 17th, the amount converted to deposit tokens in the Bank of Korea's central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project 'Project Hangang' conducted from April to June was KRW 1.64 billion. Of this, the tokens actually used for payments totaled KRW 690 million (42.1%). The amount converted to deposit tokens per opened wallet was 20,246 won, and the payment amount per transaction was 11,500 won.

Deposit tokens are digital currencies issued against deposit accounts. Because they are similar to stablecoins (cryptocurrencies with a 1-to-1 exchange value with fiat currency), the Bank of Korea and others have introduced Project Hangang as a pilot project for the introduction of stablecoins.

Project participants converted real money into deposit tokens in their bank apps and then purchased coffee or delivery food at partner stores using QR codes, etc. However, it was evaluated that banks' quick payment systems are not as developed as fintech firms like KakaoPay and Toss, making it difficult to greatly expand partner stores. Due to insufficient legislation, currently only banks can participate in such projects.

Political circles point out that related laws need to be amended. Ahn said, "A system should be established to allow non-bank entities to participate in stablecoin issuance projects so that places of use can be greatly expanded."

Reporter Si-eun Lee see@hankyung.com