Hangang 2: BoK Doubles Down on Tokenized Bank Deposits for September Pilot 💸

The Bank of Korea is preparing to launch the second phase of Project Hangang, its wholesale central bank digital currency pilot, as early as September, according to Yonhap News. The next stage will widen the circle of participating institutions from seven to nine banks and test fresh use cases for tokenized commercial-bank deposits settled in CBDC.

Regional lenders Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank are set to join the existing cohort. Project Hangang uses a blockchain-based wholesale CBDC minted by the central bank as the settlement asset for deposit tokens issued by commercial banks, which consumers can then spend at the point of sale. The first phase, run from April to June 2025, concentrated on payment infrastructure and drew roughly 81,000 participants who completed 114,880 transactions using deposit tokens.

The second phase is designed to push the experiment toward commercialization. According to the report, organizers plan to add peer-to-peer transfers, biometric authentication and new automated features for deposit tokens. Government subsidy disbursements via tokenized bank deposits are also slated for testing during the expanded pilot.

The wider rollout comes as policymakers and financial firms across Asia continue to explore programmable money rails. Related reporting has noted that Japanese logistics firms are weighing stablecoins such as JPYC to pay drivers, underscoring how tokenized settlement is moving from sandbox exercises into operational payroll and disbursement workflows.

The Bank of Korea has not publicly listed a specific launch date for the next phase beyond the September window reported by Yonhap, and final timelines will depend on technical readiness among the enlarged participant group.