- Circle signed USDC deals with Kakao Group and Toss on the same day in Seoul.
- Kakao Pay has over 40 million users, giving USDC a foothold in Korea’s top wallet.
- Toss deal covers programmable payments, overseas remittance, and biometric USDC.
On 23 July, Circle signed deals with two of South Korea’s most powerful fintech platforms. Kakao in the morning and Toss in the afternoon.
The world’s second-largest dollar stablecoin issuer signed separate memorandums of understanding with Kakao Group, covering Kakao, Kakao Pay and KakaoBank, and with Toss and Toss Bank, all on the same day.
Both partnerships expand blockchain payment infrastructure and stablecoin adoption, positioning USDC for financial services used by millions of South Koreans.
What Each Deal Actually Covers
The Kakao agreement targets USDC integration across payments, settlement, and digital asset connectivity. Kakao Pay alone has over 40 million registered users, making it one of the largest digital wallets in the country.
The Toss deal goes further. The companies will explore programmable payments that execute automatically on blockchain based on conditions, biometric authentication linked to USDC, overseas remittances using stablecoin rails, and connections between Circle’s infrastructure and existing bank account-based settlement systems. Toss Bank will specifically look at using those capabilities to speed up global payments.
Delayed Regulation Could Become South Korea’s Advantage
Speaking to reporters at Josun Palace in Yeoksam-dong, Dante Disparte, Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer, said South Korea’s delayed crypto legislation is not a weakness. It is an opportunity. The US passed the GENIUS Act. Europe introduced MiCA. The UK followed this year. South Korea can now take everything those frameworks got right and leave behind what they got wrong.
“South Korea can gain a major advantage in regulation and policy as a second mover,” he said. “You can’t put a new train on old tracks.”
Circle is not building in South Korea; instead, it is embedding. By locking into Kakao and Toss simultaneously, it ensures that whatever regulatory framework South Korea adopts, USDC is already underneath the platforms most Koreans use every day.
Related: Circle Stock Jumps 10% After OCC Approves National Trust Bank
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