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South Korea’s central bank wants banks to lead the stablecoin game—slowly.
Ryoo Sangdai, a top bank official, said the digital won should be rolled out by regulated banks first. These banks are better at following rules.
Why? To avoid a mess if things go wrong.
Stablecoins are cool, but risky.
Ryoo warned they might cause money to leave the country fast. That could mess with Korea’s money system and exchange rates.*
He also hinted at “narrow banking” ideas. This would separate risky stuff from normal banking.**
Even though they’re worried, the Bank of Korea is building its own digital currency too. It wants to keep up.
A CBDC test will wrap up by June 30. But the second phase? That depends on how banks feel.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are pushing a law to let companies with $368,000 or more issue stablecoins.
Ryoo’s team says they’ll need to coordinate with banks for the next step.
Oh, and it’s not just Korea doing this.
Russia, UAE, and even Visa in Africa are jumping on the stablecoin train.
*Foreign exchange liberalization: when a country allows easy trading of its currency internationally.
**Narrow banking: a system where banks stick to safe stuff like deposits and leave lending to others.
