--- title: "Circle Signs MoUs With Kakao and Toss for Won-Stablecoin" date: 2026-07-23 author: "Kathleen Kinder" featured_image: "https://coinlaw.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/circle-signs-mous-with-kakao-and-toss.jpg" categories: - name: "Cryptocurrency" url: "/crypto.md" tags: - name: "News" url: "/tag/news.md" --- # Circle Signs MoUs With Kakao and Toss for Won-Stablecoin Circle signed separate memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Kakao Group and Toss on July 23, 2026, to explore won-linked digital assets and blockchain payment infrastructure in South Korea. Neither deal commits either company to issuing a won stablecoin. ## Key Takeaways - Circle, the US issuer of the USDC stablecoin, signed separate MOUs with Kakao Group and Toss to explore won-pegged digital assets and payment rails. - The deals supplement earlier agreements Circle struck in April with KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Upbit and Bithumb. - South Korea still has no stablecoin-specific law, and domestic issuance of a won-pegged token remains illegal under current rules. - Regulators remain split on who could issue a future won stablecoin, with the Bank of Korea pushing bank-led consortia over non-bank applicants. - Circle’s chief strategy officer warned Korea risks falling behind on digital-asset adoption if regulatory clarity stalls. ## Circle Signs Separate MOUs With Kakao and Toss **Kakao**, **KakaoPay** and **KakaoBank** said on July 23 that they signed a strategic business agreement with **Circle Internet Group**, a US-based stablecoin issuer, to explore won-linked digital assets and blockchain payment services. Circle separately announced a partnership with **Toss for blockchain payment infrastructure** the same day. Toss is operated by [Viva Republica](https://coinlaw.io/toss-optimism-won-stablecoin-trial/), a South Korean fintech that runs a widely used financial super-app, so Circle’s outreach now touches two of the country’s most active consumer platforms at once. The companies said they will review the feasibility of won-pegged digital assets and tokenized financial services based on domestic regulations and market conditions. They will also discuss using Circle’s infrastructure for [overseas payments](https://coinlaw.io/most-expensive-cross-border-payment-fees/) and remittances. Both deals stop short of a launch commitment. Circle says these Kakao and Toss agreements supplement earlier partnerships it struck with [KB Kookmin Bank](https://coinlaw.io/south-korea-stablecoin-launch-banks-tech-unite/), Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, [Upbit](https://coinlaw.io/how-many-people-work-at-upbit/) and Bithumb during CEO Jeremy Allaire’s April visit, meaning Circle now has exploratory ties with seven separate Korean institutions without a single won stablecoin issued. **The urgency, I believe, isn’t widely understood nor shared (in Korea)**, said Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer of Circle, at a Seoul briefing. Disparte added that Korea “**can afford**” cautious regulation but that institutions should not “**be late to the technology**” as blockchain converges with artificial intelligence. > Circle 🤝 Kakao Group > > Circle and Kakao Group have signed an MOU to explore blockchain-based payment infrastructure and digital asset technologies in Korea. > > Together, we’ll assess opportunities for USDC and Circle’s global payment rails across payments, settlement, and digital… [pic.twitter.com/MmZRd19iIH](https://t.co/MmZRd19iIH) > > — Circle (@circle) [July 23, 2026](https://x.com/circle/status/2080093716266844289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ## Korea’s Won-Stablecoin Rules Are Still Unwritten South Korea still lacks a stablecoin specific framework, and domestic issuance of a won-pegged token remains illegal under current rules while several bills are under review. Draft proposals could allow non-bank issuers, but the Bank of Korea, the country’s central bank, has pushed for [bank led consortia](https://coinlaw.io/south-korea-cbdc-tokenized-bond-pilot-2027/), leaving unresolved who can legally issue a won stablecoin. That unresolved fight is the backdrop every Kakao, Toss and bank announcement is written against. Kakao’s own blockchain work already ties into the merged **Kaia network**, including a won stablecoin pilot with KB Kookmin covering merchant payments and remittances. Separately, eight South Korean banks are forming a joint venture for a won stablecoin, targeted for late 2025 or early 2026 and still pending approval. ## Why Circle Is Selling Rails, Not a Won Coin? Circle is notably not asking Korean regulators for permission to issue a won stablecoin itself. Both MOUs frame Circle’s role as infrastructure: [USDC-based settlement](https://coinlaw.io/usd-coin-statistics/) and remittance rails that a future, regulator-approved won token could plug into. That reads as a deliberate hedge against Korea’s unresolved issuer question rather than a bid to become an issuer itself. Circle framed the deals as helping Korean institutions move “f**rom prototyping to production**” and said it plans to expand beyond traditional finance into Korea’s startup sector. Disparte cautioned against South Korea becoming isolated within a “**digital currency firewall**,” arguing the country should stay interconnected with global digital-currency developments rather than build a closed system. That framing doubles as a pitch against a bank-only won stablecoin. ## CoinLaw’s Takeaway Two MOUs signed the same day in 2026 add up to a signal, not a commitment. [Circle](https://coinlaw.io/circle-statistics/) now holds exploratory ties with seven separate Korean institutions, and it is stacking those deals across banks, exchanges and consumer platforms so that whichever entity regulators eventually allow to issue a won stablecoin, USDC’s rails are already wired into its infrastructure. That is a lower-risk bet than lobbying to become the issuer directly, and it sidesteps a regulatory fight Circle cannot win from outside the country. The real constraint remains **Seoul’s own indecision**. Until the Bank of Korea and the legislature settle whether banks or non-bank firms can issue a won-pegged token, every announcement from Kakao, Toss or the eight-bank consortium is a position, not a product. Investors reading these MOUs as evidence of an imminent Korean stablecoin launch are ahead of the actual regulatory timeline. Definition of Stablecoin. Link to full glossary entry follows the description.**Stablecoin**A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency tied to a reserve asset like the US dollar, designed to maintain a stable value for trading, payments, and transfers. [Read more](https://coinlaw.io/glossary/stablecoin/)