Wemade Boosts KRW Stablecoin Efforts with New Alliances After Challenges

Blockchain gaming company Wemade is striving to create a stablecoin ecosystem based on the Korean won, forming the Global Alliance for KRW Stablecoins (GAKS) with partners like Chainalysis, CertiK, and SentBe. The initiative aims to develop a dedicated mainnet for KRW-backed stablecoins while adhering to institutional and regulatory demands.

Key Takeaways

Wemade is forming the Global Alliance for KRW Stablecoins (GAKS) with partners such as Chainalysis, CertiK, and SentBe.
The alliance focuses on creating StableNet, a mainnet for Korean won-based stablecoins.
Chainalysis will provide threat detection, CertiK will handle node validation and audits, and SentBe will support remittance operations.
This initiative represents a strategic shift for Wemade after facing various setbacks, including token delistings and a bridge exploit.

Wemade's Journey and Shift to Stablecoins

Wemade's venture into stablecoin infrastructure marks a significant turning point after a challenging seven-year journey, transitioning from a conventional gaming studio to a prominent player in South Korea's blockchain sector. The company initiated its blockchain division in 2018, and it has since expanded its workforce from just four employees to 200. However, this rapid growth has been hampered by the country’s changing regulatory environment, which limited the company's play-to-earn (P2E) projects to international markets.

Much of the scrutiny on Wemade focused on its native WEMIX token. In 2022, several South Korean exchanges removed the token from their listings, citing inconsistencies between its reported supply and actual figures, which caused its value to plunge by over 70%. The WEMIX token faced further setbacks in 2024 when a bridge exploit resulted in losses of approximately 9 billion won (around $6 million). The delayed communication regarding this incident raised additional concerns and diminished investor trust, resulting in another wave of delistings.

Wemade's pivot towards stablecoin infrastructure represents an effort to reshape its public image and direct its technology toward more compliant projects. As reported by the Korea Times, the company is developing a dedicated KRW stablecoin mainnet, refraining from becoming a stablecoin issuer itself, and is instead positioning itself as a technological partner and consortium leader for other South Korean companies.

Wemade's Shift to Stablecoin Infrastructure

South Korea's Evolving Regulatory Environment Post-Terra

The collapse of the Terra project in 2022 continues to influence the regulatory climate for digital assets in South Korea, with lawmakers and regulators now highly aware of the potential risks posed by stablecoins. Since the Terra incident, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Bank of Korea (BOK) have adopted a rigorous approach, advocating for heightened liquidity requirements, oversight, and transparency as they prepare a new framework focused on risk containment for stablecoins.

The central bank has also emphasized the importance of involving banks in stablecoin issuance to improve financial and foreign exchange stability. The BOK has cautioned that permitting non-bank entities to lead in stablecoin issuance could compromise existing regulations.

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