The banking arm of South Korean IT giant Kakao Corporation is reportedly ramping up plans to offer stablecoin services amid a regulatory shift in the country after the election of pro-crypto President Lee Jae-myung.
KakaoBanks’ chief financial officer Kwon Tae-hoon said during the company’s first-half 2025 earnings call that the company is “reviewing various methods such as issuance and custody,” and “plans to actively participate,” in the “digital asset ecosystem,” ZDNet Korea reported on Wednesday
Kwon added that the initiative is being spearheaded in cooperation with Kakao’s Stablecoin Task Force, which includes top leadership from its core affiliates including KakaoPay.
KakaoBanks’ stablecoin move follows the election of President Lee Jae-myung in June, who has since pushed forward with various crypto-related laws, including a bill to legalize stablecoins.
KakaoBank laying groundwork
KakaoBank filed for stablecoin-related trademarks on June 23, at the same time as rival Kookmin Bank, a subsidiary of KB Financial Group. Eight other South Korean banks are also planning Korean won-pegged stablecoins to launch by 2026.
Kwon reportedly said KakaoBank already has experience in digital assets, having “successfully conducted wallet opening, exchanges,” and participated in the Bank of Korea’s central bank digital currency experiment.
“For the past three years, we have been issuing real-name verified accounts for virtual asset exchanges and have been operating risk-related measures such as Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering-based monitoring,” Kwon said.
KakaoBank has 25.86 million users, representing roughly half of South Korea’s population of 51.7 million, and $46.47 billion in assets under management as of March this year.
Crypto exchange users in South Korea have surpassed 16 million, after receiving a boost from US President Donald Trump’s election win last November. The figure represents more than 30% of the country’s population.
KakaoBank stock remains flat
After KakaoBank filed for stablecoin-related trademarks, its stock price jumped to 37,000 Korean won ($27) from around 30,400 won ($22.60), representing a 19.3% increase.
However, following the latest update to its stablecoin plans, the share price made only small gains on Wednesday, rising to a peak of $20.10 for the trading session, before dropping to $19.43 by the bell.
In the latest trading session on Thursday, its stock price made a small gain, rising 0.93% to trade at $19.60.
The bank has been operating since 2016 and was founded through a partnership between Korea Investment Holdings and Kakao Corp.
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Stablecoins use eyed around world
Other large companies and even countries have been showing an increasing interest in using stablecoins in some form.
A May 14 report from enterprise-grade digital assets platform Fireblocks found that 90% of institutional players surveyed are exploring the use of stablecoins in their operations.
A Russian Finance Ministry official floated a plan for the government to develop its own stablecoin in April, while a trio of major Abu Dhabi institutions teamed up to create a new dirham-pegged stablecoin in the same month.
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