Catenaa, Saturday, November 29, 2025-South Korean internet giant Naver, through its fintech arm Naver Financial, plans to launch a stablecoin wallet in Busan aimed at digitizing the city’s regional currency, Dongbaek-jeon.
The wallet, developed in partnership with blockchain infrastructure providers Hashed and the Busan Digital Asset Exchange (BDAN), will allow residents to convert fiat into a stablecoin-backed version of Dongbaek-jeon.
The service is designed to modernize payments for roughly 1.5 million monthly users and integrate with Naver Pay Wallet, which already supports crypto custody.
Development began in May, and the wallet is now undergoing final testing before its expected launch next month. Full functionality will depend on South Korea’s pending regulations for local-currency stablecoins, which remain under review.
Busan introduced Dongbaek-jeon as a prepaid card with cashback incentives to support local merchants, and the new stablecoin initiative aims to enable real-time settlement across the city’s payments network.
BNK Busan Bank, the current issuer, is exploring the transition from point-based issuance to a fully blockchain-backed system.
The rollout coincides with Naver’s reported merger plans with Dunamu, operator of Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The merger, structured as a stock-swap deal, would expand Naver’s crypto presence ahead of a potential Nasdaq listing.
Naver posted third-quarter revenue of 3.14 trillion won ($2.32 billion) with 570.6 billion won ($422.6 million) in operating profit, while Dunamu reported 385.9 billion won ($262.9 million) in revenue and net profit of 239 billion won ($162.8 million).
The stablecoin wallet positions Naver to further integrate digital assets into its ecosystem and support Busan’s local economy through blockchain-based payments.
