Cointelegraph by Ezra Reguerra
Blockchain gaming company Wemade is pushing for a Korean won-based stablecoin ecosystem, forming a Global Alliance for KRW Stablecoins (GAKS) with Chainalysis, CertiK and SentBe as founding partners.
Wemade announced that the alliance will support StableNet, a dedicated mainnet for Korean won-backed stablecoins, with publicly-released code and a consortium model that aims to meet institutional and regulatory requirements.
Under the partnership, Chainalysis will integrate threat-detection and real-time monitoring, while CertiK will handle node validation and security audits.
Meanwhile, money transfer company SentBe will contribute licensed remittance infrastructure across 174 countries. This allows the KRW stablecoin initiative to operate within South Korea’s regulated digital asset ecosystem.
The launch marks a coordinated effort from Wemade to reposition itself as a long-term infrastructure builder after years of setbacks, including token delistings and a bridge hack that undermined investor confidence.
Wemade’s rocky road and stablecoin pivot
Wemade’s push into stablecoin infrastructure follows a turbulent seven-year expansion from a traditional gaming studio into one of South Korea’s most ambitious blockchain builders.
The company launched its blockchain division in 2018 and grew it from a four-employee team into a 200-person operation. However, the rapid growth collided with the country’s evolving regulatory landscape, forcing the company to limit its play-to-earn (P2E) offerings to overseas markets.
Much of the pressure faced by Wemade centered on its native WEMIX token. In 2022, South Korean exchanges delisted the asset, citing discrepancies between its reported and actual supply. This resulted in a price drop of over 70% for the token.
The token suffered another major blow in 2024, when a bridge exploit resulted in 9 billion won (about $6 million) in losses. The company’s delayed disclosure attracted scrutiny and eroded further investor trust, leading to a second wave of token delistings.
The stablecoin pivot marks another attempt from Wemade to reset the narrative around the company and reposition its technology toward a more compliant and infrastructure-focused use case.
In a Korea Times report, the company said that it’s developing a KRW-focused stablecoin mainnet while avoiding becoming the stablecoin issuer itself. It’s positioning itself as a technology partner and consortium builder for other South Korean companies.
Related: Upbit hit with $36M Solana hot wallet breach day after $10B Naver deal
South Korea’s post-Terra regulatory landscape
The Terra collapse in 2022 continues to cast a shadow over South Korea’s digital asset policy, leaving lawmakers and regulators particularly sensitive to the risks associated with stablecoins.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Bank of Korea (BoK) have taken uncompromising stances since 2022, pushing for stricter liquidity, oversight and disclosure rules as they work on an upcoming stablecoin framework focused on risk-cointainment.
The central bank also advocated for giving banks a leading role in stablecoin issuance, thereby helping to mitigate risks to financial and foreign exchange stability.
The BOK warned that allowing non-banking institutions to take the lead in stablecoin issuance could undermine existing regulations.
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