The cryptocurrency market has long been dominated by dollar-denominated stablecoins, creating friction for businesses operating with other currencies. For Korean enterprises and global entertainment brands, this often means converting the Korean won into U.S. dollars to conduct fast transactions, adding costs and limiting direct pricing and remittances. A Korean won (KRW)-pegged stablecoin could offer a powerful alternative, streamlining payments and expanding Korea’s financial influence—a concept supporters call “K-finance.”

Introducing StableNet: A Dedicated KRW Network

Game developer Wemade and its blockchain division, Wemix, have introduced StableNet, a dedicated main network designed specifically for a KRW stablecoin. At a recent launch event, the company presented the project as a key piece of infrastructure to globalize K-finance, aiming to move a KRW stablecoin beyond crypto trading and into everyday transactions linked to real-world bank accounts. A prototype token, tentatively named KRC1, was demonstrated to showcase issuance, bridging, burning, and merchant payment capabilities.

Wemix CEO Shane Kim drew a parallel to the global rise of Korean culture, stating, “K-finance can establish worldwide influence through stablecoins and blockchain platforms.” The project’s roadmap includes making the source code public in October, launching a public testnet in November, and targeting a mainnet launch in early 2026 following extensive stability checks.

Technical Design and User Experience

StableNet is designed for seamless integration with the broader crypto ecosystem, boasting 100% compatibility with Ethereum, where most stablecoin infrastructure already exists. This allows wallets, smart contracts, and payment services to migrate with minimal adjustments. The network prioritizes high throughput to handle large payment volumes and includes enterprise-focused features like dedicated processing lanes and APIs designed for domestic financial systems.

A key feature is its “native fee” model, which lets users pay transaction costs directly with the stablecoin. This eliminates the need to hold a separate gas token, a common hurdle for newcomers to cryptocurrency. Wemix also emphasized that compliance and security are core design principles, reflecting the increased regulatory scrutiny on fiat-backed tokens worldwide.

A Consortium Model for Growth

To bring StableNet from a technical demonstration to a fully operational system, Wemade and Wemix are pursuing a dual strategy. The plan involves assembling a consortium of Korean banks and regulated financial firms to manage issuance and compliance while also securing partnerships with global companies. This model aims to make it easier for Korean enterprises to adopt on-chain technology without building their own Know Your Customer (KYC), custody, and reporting systems from scratch.

Wemix intends to leverage its extensive experience operating Web3 infrastructure for popular games, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, and DApps. This existing ecosystem of developers and users could provide the initial use cases for the KRW stablecoin, from fan commerce to in-game payouts, as the network expands to include traditional financial institutions.