iM Bank completed a proof-of-concept for a won stablecoin that implements the entire process from issuance to payment, settlement and burning. It is being assessed as a move to secure capabilities to commercialise blockchain-based financial services in line with efforts to institutionalise digital assets.

iM Bank said on May 20 it had successfully completed the “won stablecoin technology proof-of-concept project” carried out with OpenAsset, a digital-asset financial infrastructure specialist.

The project focused on implementing the full lifecycle of a won stablecoin in a real financial environment, including issuance, top-ups, payments, settlement and burning. iM Bank said it has secured technical capabilities and an operating framework that enable immediate business rollout in preparation for the institutionalisation of digital assets.

About 10 departments took part, including iM Bank’s AX Promotion Department. iM Bank said it checked the overall path to commercialisation, from architecture design to compliance validation, to verify actual operational capabilities.

Using OpenAsset’s stablecoin issuance solution OpenMint, it issued iM Bank’s won stablecoin, iMKRW, on the Kaia blockchain network. It demonstrated the full process — won top-ups, QR-based payments and merchant settlement — in a controlled setting such as an in-house cafe, using the DAGAON digital-asset wallet service.

iM Bank said it validated system stability by carrying out about 80 scenarios without errors.

iM Bank plans to pursue follow-up projects, including blockchain-based global remittances and a local-currency platform linked to local governments.

An iM Bank official said, “Through this proof-of-concept, we proved our technical capabilities and willingness to execute in preparation for the digital-asset era.” The official added, “We will continue to expand next-generation digital financial services such as global remittances and local currency.”