BC Card has announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Coinbase to pilot the domestic deployment of the USDC stablecoin in South Korea. Coinbase, which developed USDC with Circle, was founded in 2021. In 2023, Coinbase launched Base, an Ethereum-based blockchain, to broaden USDC’s global distribution and use by partnering with major payment operators.
Under the MOU, a Base-based wallet will be linked with BC Card’s QR payment solution so merchants holding USDC can pay domestically. The pilot aims to test interoperability between the Base chain and BC Card’s payment infrastructure and to establish a won-denominated settlement process that aligns with domestic regulations. The initiative also seeks to advance a pilot-driven USDC domestic payments and settlement model, explore network-based joint services, and activate Korea’s Base ecosystem over the medium to long term.
Choi Won-seok, President of BC Card, said the collaboration would combine IP and know-how in digital assets and stablecoin payments to progressively build a USDC payments ecosystem tailored to Korea.
Park Hyuk-jae, Coinbase Base Asia head, noted that interlinking the Base chain with BC Card’s payment infrastructure would enhance global payment convenience in Korea, supported by 15 fiat currencies.
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