Hana Financial Partners With Crypto.com on Won Stablecoin Use in South Korea

Hana Financial Group said it is building an early partnership around a won-denominated stablecoin and expanding cooperation with global digital-asset firms as it seeks to lead the digital-asset ecosystem.

The group said Hana Card is working with an affiliate of Circle, the issuer of the global stablecoin USDC, and with global digital-asset operator Crypto.com to promote payment marketing in South Korea, drawing on the group’s global network.

Hana Card will run a cashback event for foreign customers who hold a Crypto.com Visa card and either hold USDC or have a record of topping up USDC. When they pay at participating merchants in South Korea, Hana Card will return 5% of the purchase amount in Crypto.com’s native token, Cronos (CRO).

Hana Financial said the effort is aimed at giving foreign customers experience with digital-asset payments and identifying new payment demand centered on major domestic merchants.

A Hana Financial official said, “This project is a process of confirming the potential use of stablecoin-based payments and broadening the scope of cooperation with global digital-asset operators.” The official added, “Hana Financial Group will continue to pursue various use cases that consider the entire process from distribution to use after stablecoins are institutionalized.”

Separately, Hana Financial said it is also expanding ties with global digital-asset firms, including preparing licensing for digital-asset custody services at BitGo Korea, a joint venture it established with BitGo, a global digital-asset custodian listed on the New York Stock Exchange.