The Bank of Korea is preparing to launch the second phase of Project Hangang as early as September 2026. A report by Yonhap News stated that the central bank will expand the scope of its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot by increasing the number of participating banks from seven to nine. Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank have joined as new participants to test the nation’s digital currency infrastructure.
This second phase goes beyond merely adding participants. The new system will feature user-to-user transfers, biometric authentication for security, and automated deposit token functionalities. The most notable trial in this stage is the plan to distribute government subsidies directly to beneficiaries through deposit tokens recorded on a blockchain network.
Digital Money from Commercial Banks, Not Central Bank
From the beginning, Project Hangang was designed using a two-tier model separating the roles of the central bank and commercial banks. The Bank of Korea does not issue digital currency for public consumer spending. Instead, it only issues wholesale CBDC as an interbank settlement asset. Meanwhile, the tokens circulating and held by citizens are deposit tokens issued by individual commercial banks.
This separation-of-authority model has already undergone field testing in phase one, which ran between April and June 2025. That initial pilot period involved approximately 81,000 participants who conducted 114,880 transactions using commercial deposit tokens.
Plans for the Won Stablecoin
Alongside preparations for the phase two pilot, four of the country’s major financial authorities released a major roadmap for the future of their digital money. The Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Korea Securities Depository jointly announced plans to make the won a freely convertible currency.
This roadmap covers establishing a legal framework for won stablecoins along with developing new digital payment infrastructure. To maintain domestic financial stability, the Bank of Korea is advocating that issuance licenses for won stablecoins be prioritized for government-recognized banking consortiums.
Furthermore, the Bank of Korea confirmed its participation in Project Agora. Led by the Bank for International Settlements, this initiative tests tokenized cross-border payment infrastructure. The central bank’s integration into this global project, combined with new stablecoin regulations and the expanded CBDC pilot, highlights a single clear goal. South Korea is overhauling the way won currency is issued and transferred, both for its own citizens and for transactions beyond its borders.
Reported by Cointelegraph.
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