The Financial institution of Korea has kicked off Section 2 of Venture Hangang, increasing its digital gained pilot to 9 banks and, for the primary time, utilizing CBDC-linked deposit tokens for actual authorities subsidy funds.
Abstract
- The BOK’s Venture Hangang Section 2 extends its wholesale CBDC and deposit-token pilot from seven to 9 banks and introduces dwell authorities subsidy disbursement as a core check case.
- New options corresponding to biometric approvals, P2P pockets transfers and computerized top-ups purpose to repair Section 1’s weak engagement, when solely ~80,000 of 100,000 invited customers opened wallets and quantity stayed beneath 700 million gained regardless of a 30–35 billion gained infrastructure spend.
- Seoul is positioning deposit tokens as an “intermediate stage between a CBDC and stablecoins,” tying the pilot to a possible 110 trillion gained subsidy move and future AI-powered computerized funds slightly than dashing a full retail CBDC.
The Financial institution of Korea (BOK) formally launched the second section of Venture Hangang on Wednesday, its flagship initiative to construct a blockchain-based funds and settlement infrastructure utilizing wholesale central financial institution digital forex (CBDC) and industrial financial institution deposit tokens. The enlargement marks a pivotal step ahead for South Korea’s digital forex ambitions, broadening the mission from seven to 9 collaborating industrial banks and introducing dwell authorities subsidy disbursement for the primary time.
Section 2, formally dubbed “Venture Hangang Section 2,” provides Kyongnam Financial institution and iM Financial institution to the unique seven establishments — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, NH Nonghyup, IBK Industrial, and BNK Busan Financial institution. The mission is being carried out collectively with the Monetary Companies Fee and the Monetary Supervisory Service, and covers real-scenario testing of deposit tokens throughout two crucial use circumstances: authorities subsidy distribution and nationwide shopper cost and switch companies.
Section 1 of Venture Hangang, which ran for about three months starting in April 2025, onboarded as much as 100,000 members and recorded 118,000 cost check transactions, validating {that a} deposit-token-based cost and settlement system may function stably in a dwell atmosphere. Nonetheless, the pilot uncovered vital friction: whereas 100,000 residents had been invited to take part, solely round 80,000 really opened digital wallets, and whole cost quantity reached simply 692.46 million gained — modest figures that prompted banks, which had collectively spent roughly 30–35 billion gained constructing the underlying infrastructure, to lift considerations about commercialisation viability.
The BOK has addressed these gaps straight in Section 2. New options embody biometric authentication by way of fingerprint for cost approval, direct peer-to-peer transfers between digital wallets, and an computerized top-up operate that converts funds from a linked checking account into deposit tokens when a pockets stability runs low. The BOK framed the enhancements as significant steps towards usability parity with current digital cost techniques.
Probably the most consequential additions in Section 2 is the combination of presidency subsidy disbursement. South Korea’s authorities distributes huge sums via social welfare applications — a BOK consultant has famous that Venture Hangang is designed to reinforce fiscal effectivity by decreasing misuse and reducing administrative prices related to the present system of bank cards, regionally issued vouchers, and financial institution accounts. The federal government is exploring allocating a portion of its $499 billion funds by way of CBDC-linked distribution infrastructure, making the subsidy pilot a check case with implications nicely past retail funds.
The BOK was cautious to border the mission’s ambitions modestly. In its announcement, it described the digital forex being examined as “an intermediate stage between a CBDC and stablecoins,” and emphasised that Venture Hangang is just not premised on the quick introduction of a full retail CBDC, however slightly a real-transaction check of how public monetary infrastructure may operate in a digital atmosphere. For industrial banks, the BOK added, it might be “a chance to strive utilizing it prematurely in preparation for the opportunity of future institutionalization.”
Giant-scale follow-up actual transactions with all 9 banks are deliberate for the second half of 2026, with a acknowledged goal of decreasing cost charges for small enterprise homeowners and constructing monetary infrastructure related to new industries — together with AI-based computerized funds. LG CNS, which constructed the underlying technical infrastructure for Section 1, stays a core techniques accomplice.
The launch comes weeks after the BOK individually revealed a report in February 2026 urging regulators to limit early issuance of won-backed stablecoins to licensed industrial banks, citing cash laundering and monetary stability dangers — a stance that reinforces Seoul’s desire for a managed, bank-led path to digital forex adoption slightly than the open-access mannequin seen in another jurisdictions.
