Injective has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean digital-asset custodian BDACS to position KRW1, a Korean won-pegged stablecoin, as the exclusive won-denominated settlement asset for real-world assets and tokenization activity on its blockchain.
The arrangement would allow eligible participants to trade and settle tokenized assets in Korean won directly on Injective, avoiding the need to move first into a US dollar-pegged stablecoin. Its implementation remains conditional on regulatory approval, and the minting and redemption of KRW1 would be restricted to approved institutional partners.
The agreement places a locally denominated stablecoin at the center of a network that has been targeting tokenized financial products, including trade receivables. If approved, the structure could give Korean institutions a route to issue, transfer and settle blockchain-based assets against a won-linked instrument rather than relying on dollar liquidity.
BDACS Chief Executive Officer Ryoo said the two firms will assess KRW1’s role as a won settlement asset and expand their cooperation in line with changes to South Korea’s digital-asset rules.
A won settlement route for tokenized assets
Stablecoins have largely developed around the US dollar, leaving institutions in many local markets to use dollar-linked tokens even when the underlying asset, client base and reporting currency are domestic. The proposed KRW1 arrangement aims to address that mismatch for transactions conducted on Injective.
Settlement is the final exchange of an asset and payment between counterparties. In conventional securities markets, that process typically runs through banks, custodians and central clearing infrastructure. A won-pegged on-chain settlement asset could allow approved firms to complete the payment leg of a tokenized transaction on the same network that records ownership of the asset.
That model may be particularly relevant for tokenized receivables, fixed-income instruments or other assets with won-denominated cash flows. Using a dollar stablecoin for those transactions can add conversion steps and foreign-exchange exposure to a trade whose economic value is otherwise based in Korean won.
The MOU does not indicate that KRW1 will be broadly available to retail users. Its proposed issuance and redemption model is institutionally gated, placing BDACS and approved partners at the center of access to the stablecoin. Such limits could help align the system with expected rules on customer identification, reserve management and transaction controls, though the operational framework will depend on regulatory approval.
South Korean legislation remains the decisive factor
The timing of the agreement coincides with work in Seoul on the Digital Asset Basic Act, proposed legislation intended to establish a legal framework for won-denominated stablecoins and other parts of the domestic digital-asset market.
The bill is reportedly in its final stage of consultation within the government and is scheduled for discussion at the National Assembly next month. The outcome could determine which types of companies may issue won stablecoins, how reserve assets must be held, and how supervisory responsibilities are divided among financial authorities.
Policy debates have also included proposals that would require banks to hold at least a 50% stake in stablecoin ventures. A requirement of that kind would favor structures involving regulated financial institutions and could make custody providers, blockchain operators and banks more likely to work through joint ventures or formal partnerships rather than independent token issuers.
For BDACS and Injective, the MOU creates a framework ready for a more detailed rollout if the regulatory environment permits it. It does not by itself authorize KRW1 issuance, guarantee a timetable, or settle the remaining policy questions around domestic stablecoin businesses.
Dollar stablecoins dominate existing on-chain settlement
The case for a won-linked settlement asset rests partly on the limited role that non-dollar stablecoins currently play in the market. USD-backed stablecoins account for more than 98% of total stablecoin capitalization, according to non-USD stablecoin supply data referenced in the report.
That dominance has made dollar-pegged tokens the default quote currency and collateral asset across many blockchain markets. It has also meant that users seeking on-chain liquidity in local currencies often face thinner markets, additional exchange conversions, or settlement paths that return to traditional banking rails.
South Korean users have supplied an especially visible example of this imbalance. Company-cited figures say the country’s five largest cryptocurrency exchanges recorded 18 consecutive months of net stablecoin outflows to overseas platforms, totaling roughly $10.4 billion. While the figures do not establish why each transfer occurred, they illustrate the extent to which stablecoin liquidity serving Korean users has been concentrated outside domestic won-based instruments.
A regulated won settlement option could retain a portion of activity that currently moves through offshore platforms and dollar-linked tokens. Its usefulness would depend less on the existence of the token itself than on whether institutions can access it, redeem it reliably, and find enough counterparties willing to use it for tokenized assets.
BDACS brings custody infrastructure to the partnership
BDACS is registered in South Korea as a virtual asset service provider and provides digital-asset custody and infrastructure for institutional clients. The company reported more than 80 billion Korean won in assets under custody during the first half of 2026.
Custody is likely to be central to any institutional stablecoin system. Approved participants would need a process for holding KRW1, receiving tokenized assets, managing wallet permissions and completing redemptions under applicable compliance requirements. BDACS’s role gives the project a domestic infrastructure partner familiar with institutional asset handling, while Injective supplies the blockchain environment on which tokenized products would trade and settle.
Injective has previously been selected by POSCO International and LG CNS for systems covering issuance, transfer, administration and settlement of trade receivables connected to international commerce. Those projects provide a more specific use case than general cryptocurrency trading: commercial claims can be issued as blockchain-based instruments and passed between eligible parties during their lifecycle.
According to figures provided by Injective, its network has processed more than $7.5 billion in real-world asset volume and has seen more than $1 billion in tokenized assets issued. Those figures indicate the chain is pursuing an institutional-asset strategy, though the KRW1 initiative would require a separate local regulatory and operational foundation.
The BDACS agreement extends that strategy into South Korea with a settlement mechanism designed around the local currency. Whether it moves beyond an MOU will now depend on the country’s stablecoin rules, the terms under which institutional partners are approved, and the ability of KRW1 to support practical issuance and redemption for tokenized won-denominated assets.
Discover how regional stablecoins reshape settlement in Asia in this in-depth explainer for context.
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