Korea's Crypto Market Faces Regulatory Uncertainty Amid CBDC Progress

The Bank of Korea's CBDC has entered live-transaction testing under Project Han River Phase 2, but a won-denominated stablecoin still lacks legislative basis. The revised STO bill passed, but key regulations are left to presidential decree, and the market's direction will be set when those details appear.

The consultative council is aligned on a tokenization roadmap for stocks, bonds, and money market funds, prioritizing bringing proven securities on-chain rather than sourcing new assets. Hana Bank holds 6.55% of Dunamu (1.0033 trillion won, about $733 million) and Mirae Asset Consulting owns 97.15% of Korbit (141.4 billion won, about $103 million), indicating a focus on infrastructure for combined STO, RWA, and stablecoin services.

Overseas tokenization pilots take six months to a year, but domestic financial institutions close their budgets in early December, suggesting implementation should start now rather than waiting for detailed rules. The crypto ecosystem appears borderless, but national borders are becoming sharper as each country establishes its own regulatory framework.