Toss & Optimism Say "Won't You" to a Korean Won Stablecoin Pilot 🇰🇷

Viva Republica, the South Korean operator of mobile money platform Toss, has signed a memorandum of understanding with blockchain developer Optimism and privacy solutions provider Sunnyside Labs to conduct a three-month proof of concept for a Korean won-denominated stablecoin, according to Yonhap News, as reported on Wednesday. The initiative will use Optimism's OP Stack alongside Sunnyside Labs' Privacy Boost protocol to evaluate whether blockchain-based payment infrastructure can meet domestic regulatory and operational requirements. Seoul-headquartered Toss, launched in 2015, reports more than 30 million users on its mobile application.

The PoC will examine whether financial institutions can retain control over the settlement process, whether know-your-customer and anti-money laundering verification can be integrated, and whether transactions can remain private on a public blockchain ledger. Optimism will supply the blockchain infrastructure while Sunnyside Labs, a core developer for the Optimism Collective that has been building core OP Stack infrastructure, will contribute its privacy-preserving technology to shield transfer details. Cointelegraph has approached Toss for more details about the stablecoin pilot, and Toss plans to use the three-month test as the foundation for building compliant stablecoin-based payment infrastructure in the country.

The Korean won stablecoin project follows similar efforts by other major financial institutions in the country exploring stablecoin-based payment and settlement systems. In late April, Shinhan Card, one of South Korea's largest credit card providers, teamed with the Solana Foundation to test the commercial feasibility of stablecoin payments and non-custodial wallets, after completing an earlier joint pilot that month, and said it hoped to eventually develop its own DeFi-linked services that implement blockchain oracles to connect offchain and onchain information. Late last year, Visa launched USD Coin ($USDC) settlement services for select US-based financial institutions on the Solana blockchain, while Mastercard and South Korea's BC Card are also exploring stablecoins for improved payments and settlement.