NH NongHyup Bank said on Feb. 4 it held a strategic meeting with global digital asset infrastructure company Fireblocks at its headquarters in Seoul on Feb. 2 on a proof-of-concept to digitalise tax refunds and ways to build a won stablecoin ecosystem.

The meeting was attended by executives and working-level staff from NH NongHyup Bank's AI Data division, as well as Fireblocks Chief Strategy Officer Stephen Richardson (스티븐 리처드슨) and global and Asia sales leads from the company's headquarters.

The tax refund digitalisation PoC being pursued by the two firms began in November last year and, after an offline workshop, completed its design in January this year. They plan to complete development and testing by April.

Fireblocks introduced digital asset operations cases for global banks and institutional investors, covering wallets and security infrastructure, regulatory response and strategies to expand global networks. It also shared examples of stablecoin adoption across the global financial sector and trends in global payments, distribution and security infrastructure.

The two sides agreed that a won stablecoin could develop into a key payment instrument linking financial infrastructure and digital asset services. They discussed a cooperation model that combines a bank-centred trust-based structure with global blockchain networks.

An NH NongHyup Bank official said, "Building on these discussions, we plan to promote the development of a digital asset ecosystem centred on a won stablecoin and, in line with the direction of institutionalisation, to advance linkage with global financial infrastructure and domestic financial innovation together."