Visa signed a cooperation memorandum with Abu Dhabi's ADI Foundation to study blockchain payments, without naming a chain, stablecoin, product or launch date. Until a settlement asset and a date appear, the pact gives Visa a regional position for the stablecoin settlement work it has been testing with Lloyds and in South Korea.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption10
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives60
- Confidence72
Tether signed a non-binding MoU with Kazakhstan's central bank on a tenge stablecoin and pilots in Alatau City, where up to $60 million is to be tokenized. Nothing has been approved, and the parties have yet to choose an issuer, a blockchain or a reserve structure for the token.
Perspective Coverage
7 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 21%
- Operator
- Operator 40%
- Investor
- Investor 39%
Reality
- Evidence70
- Adoption8
- Hype gap+28
- Incentives62
- Confidence66
Naver Financial and Dunamu pushed their share swap to March 31, 2027, a third three-month delay that leaves the close 274 days past its first target. The companies say Korea's antitrust and financial-sector reviews now decide the date.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap0
- Incentives45
- Confidence70
Korean companies route $620 million of stablecoin payments through affiliates abroad
Korean companies paid about $620 million in stablecoins between 2021 and September 2026, Allium data show, through affiliates and partners abroad. Whether that flow returns once Seoul's stablecoin bill arrives depends most on small exporters whose foreign buyers asked to pay this way.
Reality
- Evidence50
- Adoption15
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives60
- Confidence45
Four global crypto infrastructure firms court Korean banks before any vendor dominates the stack
MoonPay is pursuing stablecoin, remittance and payments work with KB Financial, Woori Bank and KakaoBank after opening a Korean entity in September. Its one-vendor pitch faces three other global entrants and four Korean firms, most of them selling banks a single layer of the stack.
Reality
- Evidence40
- Adoption20
- Hype gap+25
- Incentives60
- Confidence45
Scammers ran a working copy of Dunamu's unlaunched GIWA network on its reserved chain ID 9134 and drained 766.25 ETH from users. The ID got through an exchange's listing checks, so a matching network ID is now weak evidence that a chain is the real one.
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 38%
- Operator
- Operator 40%
- Investor
- Investor 22%
Reality
- Evidence68
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+12
- Incentives60
- Confidence70
Stripe-owned Bridge is issuing the OUSD stablecoin on four blockchains, with reserves held at BlackRock, Lead Bank and BNY. Open Standard has not said how much has been issued, so its list of more than 200 partner businesses is the only size figure on record.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption30
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives75
- Confidence60
Upbit's parent gets Visa's network and a shortlist that includes an unlaunched consortium dollar coin. There is no launch date yet, because Seoul's draft law may reserve won-stablecoin issuance for bank-controlled groups.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption8
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives55
- Confidence55
A petition for a two-year delay reached the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee with 51,004 names, and the finance minister nominee has told the committee that starting the 22% levy in January 2027 is desirable.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives70
- Confidence65
Upbit holds 59.4% of Korea's exchange volume while two rivals charge nothing
Korea's four biggest venues lost $364m in the first half, and the rebound since is landing unevenly, with Upbit's $1.04bn day beating Bithumb, Coinone and Digital X combined while it has waived fees only on stablecoins.
Reality
- Evidence34
- Adoption58
- Hype gap+38
- Incentives66
- Confidence41
Upbit and Bithumb lose half their revenue, and the fee-only model shows its cost base
Both Korean exchanges reported roughly 49 percent revenue declines for the first half of 2026. Operating profit fell far faster, which is what a fixed cost base does to a single-product business.
Reality
- Evidence58
- Adoption64
- Hype gap+8
- Incentives34
- Confidence60