South Korea's Project Hangang enters second phase with nine banks, targeting September for live deposit-token transactions. First phase saw 114,880 transactions.
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The Bank of Korea and commercial banks are finalizing preparations for a second-phase real-transaction test of deposit tokens under Project Hangang, Yonhap News Agency reported July 20. If system development and participant recruitment stay on schedule, transactions could restart as early as September, making live CBDC-linked payments the next commercialization milestone.
Project Hangang tests a structure where the central bank issues a blockchain-based wholesale CBDC and commercial banks issue deposit tokens that ordinary users can spend in real payment settings. Participating banks will expand from seven to nine, with Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank joining. The second phase adds P2P transfers, biometric authentication, and automatic deposit-token funding, meaning bank-led usability upgrades are central to the new test round.
The earlier phase drew 81,000 e-wallet participants and 114,880 deposit-token transactions. The next phase will also expand eligible merchants through bank partnerships. Public-sector pilots are planned for government subsidies and official expenses. The key follow-up in September: whether retail payments and public disbursements can share the same CBDC-based infrastructure.
The Bank of Korea has also pushed for bank-led won stablecoin legislation, citing materials submitted to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee. That stance mirrors the Project Hangang approach – letting banks issue deposit tokens on top of a central bank wholesale layer, rather than letting private issuers operate independently. The regulatory divide in South Korea’s stablecoin framework has stalled over whether banks should be the sole issuers.
For traders tracking the broader crypto market analysis, the September test will show whether a central bank can run a two-tier system that handles both retail payments and government disbursements on the same blockchain. The earlier phase proved the concept worked at scale. Now the question is whether the infrastructure can handle the public-sector volume without breaking the consumer experience.
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