News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Yonhap News Agency, KB Financial Group announced that it has successfully completed a full-process technical proof-of-concept (PoC) for the Korean won (KRW) stablecoin—from issuance and offline payments to merchant settlement and cross-border remittances—in collaboration with electronic payment provider KG Inicis, the Kaia public blockchain, and digital asset solutions provider OpenAsset. This PoC upgraded the internal settlement infrastructure to a blockchain-based system while preserving customers’ existing financial service habits. Real-world payment scenarios were implemented via self-service kiosks at the连锁 coffee chain Hollys: consumers need not install a digital wallet and can simply make QR-code-based payments, with blockchain smart contracts automatically executed during settlement. In the cross-border remittance validation, KRW stablecoins were first converted into USD stablecoins using liquidity on the Kaia chain, then transferred by local Vietnamese partners into actual bank accounts. The entire process took only three minutes and reduced fees by approximately 87% compared to traditional SWIFT-based methods.
According to NADA NEWS, JPYC, the issuer and operator of the Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC, announced that it has raised an additional $17.62 million in the second closing of its Series B funding round. Combined with the first closing, the total funds raised are expected to reach approximately $28.93 million. Participating investors include NCB Venture Capital, Metaplanet, Kitao Bank, and Yokohama Capital, among others. The newly raised capital will be primarily used for system and application development, hiring talent for business expansion, stablecoin issuance and redemption, trading, payments, management-related operations, and new strategic investments. JPYC stated that, as of April 15, its cumulative issuance has exceeded approximately $13.21 million. The stablecoin is currently supported on Avalanche, Ethereum, and Polygon, and the company is considering adding support for Kaia and Arc.