Bank of Korea
The Bank of Korea, the FSC and the FSS said they would test a wholesale CBDC network on which banks issue tokenised deposits, with a limited live test for the public in the fourth quarter of 2024.
- Status
- Live
- Announced
- (announcement)
- Stage
- Pilot
- Chain or network
- Bank of Korea Digital Currency System (permissioned distributed ledger)
- Participants
- Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, NongHyup Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, BNK Busan Bank, BNK Kyongnam Bank, iM Bank
- Next review
Scorecard
As of the review on . Changes since the previous review are marked. How pilots are scored
| Ledger | Private ledger |
|---|---|
| Settlement | CBDC on the ledger |
| Access | Open |
| Legal standing | Unclear |
| Scale | Repeat |
What they said they would do
- MissedBuild the system and complete proofs of concept for some use cases in 2024, then run a limited live test with the general public in the fourth quarter of 2024. (by )
Decisions
Expanded
The FSC designated phase 2 as an innovative financial service: BNK Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank join the seven banks, the wallet cap rises from 100,000 to 500,000, transfers between users and treasury payments are added, and the holding limit rises from 1 million to 10 million won per wallet.
Source: fsc.go.kr
Review history
Live Pilot
Phase 1 ran from April to June 2025 with seven banks, a quarter later than the 2024 target. The Bank of Korea reports about 81,000 wallets opened and about 1.64 billion won of deposits converted into tokenised deposits, with holdings capped at 1 million won per user.
Evidence: bok.or.kr
Live Pilot
The FSC designated phase 2 on 15 July 2026, with nine banks, up to 500,000 wallets, transfers and treasury payments. No Bank of Korea or FSC release read for this entry confirms that phase 2 live transactions have started.
Evidence: fsc.go.kr
What was announced
On 4 October 2023 the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), with the Bank for International Settlements, said they would test a future monetary system for Korea. Instead of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Bank of Korea would issue a wholesale CBDC to banks only, and banks would issue tokenised deposits to customers on the same network. At the joint briefing the Bank of Korea said it aimed to build the system and complete proofs of concept in 2024 and run a limited live test with the public in the fourth quarter of 2024.
How it works
The Bank of Korea’s phase 1 report describes a unified ledger, a concept proposed by the BIS. The Bank of Korea developed it as a permissioned distributed ledger on which only participant banks run nodes, built by an LG CNS consortium, so ledger is private. The Bank of Korea issues digital currency to participant banks, which use it to settle tokenised deposit transfers between them, so settlement is cbdc. Users convert deposits into tokenised deposits in their bank’s app and pay merchants by QR code; digital vouchers ran on smart contracts. Members of the public applied through their bank’s app, up to the cohort cap, so access is open. The report says the legal status of tokenised deposits as deposits under current law has yet to be settled, so legal is unclear.
Record so far
The FSC, Bank of Korea and FSS set the live test for 1 April to 30 June 2025, a quarter after the 2024 target, with seven banks: KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, NongHyup, Industrial Bank of Korea and BNK Busan. Up to 100,000 users could take part; holdings were capped at 1 million won and total conversion at 5 million won per participant. In its December 2025 report the Bank of Korea said about 81,000 wallets were opened and about 1.64 billion won of deposits converted, and that issuance, circulation and redemption of both the CBDC and tokenised deposits worked as designed. Merchants included Kyobo Book, 7-Eleven and Ediya Coffee.
On 15 July 2026 the FSC designated phase 2. BNK Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank join; the wallet cap rises to 500,000 and the per-wallet holding limit to 10 million won; transfers between users are added, with limits of 1 million won per transfer and 5 million won a day for individuals; and the test extends to paying out treasury funds. Smart contracts may now pay tokenised deposits directly as well as by cashback.
For Ethereum
The Bank of Korea’s report sets the two models side by side: tokenised deposits on permissioned ledgers settled in central bank money, and stablecoins on public permissionless chains run by private firms. Project Hangang is the first, and the report describes its ledger as a private network open only to participants.
What to watch
The start of phase 2 live transactions and the first treasury payment in tokenised deposits. Legislation that settles the legal status of tokenised deposits would settle legal. Phase 2 has no stated end date; offering it beyond a test cohort would move stage.