KakaoBank Plans to Launch Own Won-Pegged Stablecoin, Seeks Fresh Hires

South Korea’s KakaoBank has embarked on its planned “Kakao Coin,” a KRW-pegged stablecoin, into the actual development phase.

Kakao is reportedly establishing blockchain infrastructure for its own stablecoin and has opened new recruitment for blockchain service backend developers. The position demands a deep understanding of smart contracts and token standards.

Per a local media report, the recruit will be responsible for designing new blockchain-based service structures, managing keys, and building transaction processing systems.

“This recruitment is to supplement human resources for research on blockchain and stablecoin technologies and to examine their applicability to financial services,” a Kakao Bank official said.

The company CFO Kwon Tae-hoon said at KakaoBank’s first-half 2025 earnings call in August that the firm is entering the growing stablecoin market. Further, Kakao Group, the parent IT firm, announced a stablecoin task force and holding weekly discussions to consolidate strategy.

KakaoBank Lays Foundation for Token Offering

The bank is also planning for its security token offering (STO), leveraging blockchain, the report added. KakaoBank has signed partnerships with Korea Investment & Securities and Lucent Block to develop blockchain-based STO financial products and systems.

This comes days after South Korea advanced token securities issuance with legislative amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act. The changes lay the groundwork for the STO circulation market to open in H1 2026.

Further, the country’s financial industry estimates that its security token offerings (STO) market could be worth $287 billion by 2030.

The stablecoin race in South Korea started after President Lee pledged to launch a KRW-pegged coin for use in business and international trade.

Kakao Joins Stablecoin Race With Naver

The bank’s announcement arrives shortly after South Korean tech giant Naver reported launching a wallet service for local stablecoin in Busan city.

Naver said it has partnered with venture capital firm Hashed and the Busan Digital Asset Exchange (BDAN).

Besides, Naver Financial has moved toward a merger with Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange.

Like KakaoPay, Naver has its own payment platform, used by 30 million people monthly. Both Kakao and Naver are expected to use their millions of user base to gain stablecoin traction.