Gyeonggi Province, South Korea suspends stablecoin application research project, awaiting policy clarification on the Digital Asset Basic Act and related measures

on November 1, according to Korean media NexBlock, Gyeonggi Province has temporarily paused its research project on introducing stablecoins, primarily to allow for further evaluation of relevant policies and the regulatory environment, such as the Digital Asset Basic Act. The Gyeonggi Provincial Government emphasized that the project has not been canceled.

The research project launched in early July this year, aiming to explore the application of stablecoins in local government payment systems, including local currency, consumer vouchers, and public subsidies. It plans to use technologies like zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) and proof of reserves (PoR) to verify functions such as privacy protection, fund reserves, and the prevention of duplicate payments.

Officials from Gyeonggi Province stated that no substantive progress has been made since the project's launch. The originally planned first round of proof-of-concept (PoC) testing in August was never an officially confirmed government schedule. Subsequent testing timelines will be determined through consultation with the project executor, and the research project, originally scheduled to conclude in February 2027, may also be extended.