South Korean crypto custody firm BDACS announced on Thursday that it has launched KRW1, a stablecoin fully backed by the South Korean won, on the Avalanche blockchain.
According to a press release, BDACS completed a full proof of concept (PoC) to confirm KRW1’s technical readiness. The company said it chose Avalanche because of the network’s reliability and security, especially for public-sector use.
Each KRW1 token is fully backed by won deposits held at Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s biggest banks. BDACS added that its real-time banking API integration with Woori provides transparent and verifiable proof of reserves.
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“The launch is more than just issuing tokens,” BDACS said. “We built a full framework that includes issuance and management systems, plus a user app that supports peer-to-peer transfers and transaction verification.”
The company plans to make KRW1 a global stablecoin for remittances, payments, investments, and deposits, and is also looking at public-sector use cases such as emergency relief payouts.
BDACS said it will expand KRW1 to other blockchains to improve interoperability and is exploring partnerships with U.S. dollar stablecoins like USDT and USDC.
South Korea’s Push Toward Stablecoin Regulation
South Korea does not yet have a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins, though efforts are underway to create one. President Lee Jae Myung has voiced support for a local currency-backed stablecoin market, saying it could help strengthen the country’s monetary sovereignty in the digital finance era. At the same time, lawmakers are actively debating several stablecoin-related bills.
This growing policy momentum has already encouraged many South Korean financial institutions to prepare their own stablecoin launches, including filing trademark applications for ticker symbols.
However, the country’s central bank has stressed that stablecoin issuance should be restricted to licensed banks, warning that an uncontrolled wave of new tokens could create financial instability.
Against this backdrop, BDACS said it is positioning itself to be a major player in South Korea’s emerging stablecoin market.
“While large tech companies may eventually join, KRW1 is already live with strong institutional support from Woori Bank and global blockchain partners,” BDACS noted. “This creates a deeper infrastructure that big tech alone cannot match. We view these companies as potential collaborators, not competitors.”
