Key Takeaways
The Bank of Korea will move its central bank digital currency pilot to a second phase in September, running live transactions with nine major banks.
The central bank will supply the infrastructure while each bank issues and manages its own deposit tokens, a step it says lays the groundwork for a commercial digital won.
The push runs opposite the United States, where a four-year federal CBDC ban is sitting on President Trump's desk unsigned.
The Bank of Korea will begin running live central bank digital currency transactions with nine banks in September, moving its CBDC program into a second phase built around real payments rather than closed tests. Yonhap News Agency reported the plan on Monday, and CoinDesk confirmed the September timeline and the roster of banks.
The nine include the country's largest lenders, KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori, alongside regional names like Gyeongnam Bank and iM Bank. The central bank will provide the underlying infrastructure, and each bank will issue and manage its own deposit tokens, the digital claims that let a customer's bank balance move onchain. The Bank of Korea has framed the second phase as the start of groundwork for commercialization, with the goal of letting the won move freely regardless of time or place.
Fully launched CBDCs are still rare. Only a handful of countries run one, starting with the Bahamas in 2020 and followed by Nigeria and Jamaica, while the Atlantic Council counts dozens more still testing or developing theirs.
Korea is pushing on two tracks at once. Its banks are also preparing for won-backed stablecoins, with Hana Bank already designing issuance, redemption and settlement systems, and the finance ministry has moved to classify cryptocurrencies as national assets under a decades-old law.
The contrast with the West is sharp. Where Europe is testing a digital euro with private payment firms and the United States has sent a four-year CBDC ban to the president's desk, Seoul is putting a central bank digital won into live use with its biggest lenders.
People Also Ask
What is a central bank digital currency (CBDC)?
A CBDC is a digital form of a country's fiat money, issued and backed by its central bank and treated as legal tender, unlike privately issued stablecoins.
Which banks are in the Bank of Korea's CBDC pilot?
The second phase includes nine banks, among them KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, Gyeongnam Bank and iM Bank, with the central bank providing the infrastructure.
When does the Bank of Korea's live CBDC testing start?
The second phase, using real transactions with bank-issued deposit tokens, is scheduled to begin in September 2026.
How does Korea's CBDC approach compare with the United States?
Korea is moving toward a central bank digital won, while the United States has a four-year federal CBDC ban awaiting President Trump's signature, leaving the two countries on opposite paths.
Sources: CoinDesk, Yonhap News Agency, Atlantic Council.