Bank of Korea Expands CBDC Pilot With Deposit Token Payments in Second Phase
The Bank of Korea plans to launch the second phase of Project Hangang as early as September 2026, testing blockchain-based deposit tokens in everyday payments.
AfroEuropa Newsroom
AfroEuropa desk
The Bank of Korea (BOK) is preparing to move into the second phase of Project Hangang, its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative, with a launch that could come as early as September 2026, according to BitKE. The next stage broadens real-world testing of blockchain-based deposit tokens as the central bank works toward commercialization.
Under the project, the BOK issues a wholesale CBDC, while participating commercial banks create deposit tokens backed by that digital currency for consumers to use in retail payments. The first phase, which ran between April and June 2025, involved more than 81,000 digital wallet users and processed close to 115,000 transactions. Decrypt reported that 42% of the wallets opened in Phase 1 used the CBDC.
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