According to Odaily Planet Daily, the Bank of Korea has abandoned its central bank digital currency pilot program in favor of private-sector stablecoin issuance, prompting fintech companies and banks to accelerate their deployment. KakaoBank is considering entering the issuance and custody business, while Upbit and Naver Pay are collaborating on developing payment tokens to narrow the gap between local and global crypto prices. However, due to long-standing restrictions on onshore won trading, foreign institutions are unable to directly exchange won overseas. The won stablecoin can only be used with KYC addresses linked to South Korea, hindering its use in cross-border settlements. Analysts believe that the token lacks the payment efficiency advantages of the local instant and free transfer system, and its primary application may be limited to domestic scenarios. (CoinDesk)