Kakao Group and Circle have been in ongoing discussions on supporting domestic digital asset ecosystem infrastructure. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (center), Kakao Bank CEO Yoon Ho-young (left) and Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun (right) pose for a photo during Allaire's visit to the Kakao Pay office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, in April. [Kakao Pay]
Kakao Group and Circle have been in ongoing discussions on supporting domestic digital asset ecosystem infrastructure. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (center), Kakao Bank CEO Yoon Ho-young (left) and Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun (right) pose for a photo during Allaire's visit to the Kakao Pay office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, in April. [Kakao Pay]

Kakao Group — including Kakao, Kakao Pay and Kakao Bank — signed a strategic MOU with Circle, the issuer of USDC, the world's second-largest stablecoin, to cooperate on blockchain-based payment infrastructure and digital asset technology, including a won-backed stablecoin, the group announced Thursday.

Under the agreement, the two sides will explore ways to combine Kakao Group's digital platform and financial service ecosystem with Circle's experience developing digital asset infrastructure, including blockchain and global payment systems. They plan to identify potential opportunities across payments, settlement and digital asset connectivity in line with the regulatory environment. The partnership targets the long-term development of next-generation digital infrastructure in Korea.

Kakao Group has been building an ecosystem to bring digital assets naturally into everyday life by connecting the financial service capabilities of Kakao Pay and Kakao Bank through KakaoTalk. With the MOU, the group moves to proactively shape a Korea-specific digital asset ecosystem alongside a global digital asset infrastructure company.

The two companies will jointly explore business opportunities in won-based digital assets and tokenized financial services as regulations and market conditions evolve. They will also examine how to use Circle's payment infrastructure to build faster, more efficient payment and settlement systems — covering global payments, overseas remittances, merchant settlement and interoperability between blockchain networks and existing financial systems. Kakao Group said it plans to use this foundation not only to advance its own won-backed stablecoin initiative but also to establish a broad base enabling a range of domestic players to pursue stablecoin-driven innovation.

Kash Razzaghi, Circle's chief commercial officer, said South Korea "is one of the leaders in the global digital market and has a solid foundation for financial innovation." He added that he looks forward to "exploring opportunities to drive innovation in line with the regulatory environment by combining Circle's global infrastructure with Kakao Group's platform and financial service ecosystem."

Shin Won-keun, CEO of Kakao Pay and co-head of the group's stablecoin task force, said "the competitiveness of digital assets cannot be built on technology alone." He added that Kakao Group would "proactively prepare a Korea-specific digital asset ecosystem together with Circle, drawing on our accumulated platform, payment and financial service experience from everyday life, and set a new standard for future financial infrastructure."

Meanwhile, when Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire visited South Korea in April, he told local media the company was not considering issuing a won-backed stablecoin itself. "I have heard that the legal framework for won-backed stablecoins will take a consortium-led form," he said. "We will look for ways to cooperate with Korean companies that want to issue stablecoins through that process."


won@heraldcorp.com