The Bank of Korea will launch the second phase of its Central Bank Digital Currency pilot in September. The expansion will involve nine major banks and real-transaction testing using deposit tokens.
The second phase of Project Hangang is scheduled for September. It will expand real-transaction testing to nine banks, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori Financial Group, Gyeongnam Bank, and iM Bank.
The Bank of Korea will provide the infrastructure while the banks issue and manage deposit tokens. A BOK official said the phase will lay groundwork for commercialization of a digital won.
Phase 1 of the project opened 81,000 wallets, with 42 percent of them using the CBDC. The second phase aims to scale up the effort with live government money and broader participation.
South Korea's push comes as banks prepare for won-backed stablecoins and the government plans to classify cryptocurrencies as national assets.
