As legislation on the Digital Asset Framework Act continues to stall in parliament, the Bank of Korea is stepping up its pilot of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The central bank’s CBDC pilot, Project Hangang, has entered a second phase and is significantly expanding the scope of real-world applications. The key focus of the second phase is to lay the groundwork for commercialising deposit tokens.
• Bank of Korea speeds up Project Hangang… moving to cement leadership in digital currency
A leadership dispute between the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission has also surfaced over authority to regulate digital assets. Draft bills currently on the table specify that the FSC has jurisdiction over licensing for stablecoin issuance. The central bank is stressing its role in the licensing process, saying stablecoins issued by non-bank entities could weaken the transmission of monetary policy.
• Circle CEO: ‘Watching Korea stablecoin market… will consider entry if rules open’
• Circle moves toward re-entering Korea market… rising expectations for a won stablecoin
U.S. stablecoin firm Circle has formally signalled it could expand business in line with regulatory developments in South Korea, which it has assessed as a key hub in the global digital asset market. Circle said it plans to put emphasis on technical cooperation and providing infrastructure with local financial companies, exchanges and fintech firms.
In South Korea’s stock market, major shares classified as part of the stablecoin theme posted sharp gains on the 14th. One assessment said the broadening market reaction reflected that stablecoins are not only an issuer-specific issue but are tied to the wider payment, authentication, settlement, wallet and trading infrastructure.
• ‘Clarity Act has 30 percent chance of passing in 2026’… bank backlash a variable
• U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis: ‘If we miss this session, it will be hard before 2030’
• Coinbase responds to U.S. Treasury secretary’s call… focus on Clarity Act deliberations
A series of forecasts this week put the probability of the U.S. stablecoin regulatory bill, the Clarity Act (GENIUS Act), passing within 2026 at about 30 percent. With Senate committee deliberations set for late April, crypto industry players including Coinbase are strongly opposing a provision that would ban interest payments on stablecoin balances.
Senator Cynthia Lummis warned, “If we miss passing the Clarity Act this session, it will be hard for it to pass before 2030,” urging faster legislation. There was also an unusual scene in which the U.S. Treasury secretary directly sought Coinbase’s cooperation. Coinbase responded positively, leaving room for a late-stage compromise.
Concerns are also growing that if the bill ultimately fails, the U.S. government could pivot toward tighter regulation across the crypto industry. The Clarity Act includes provisions to protect crypto developers while also institutionalising participation by banks in issuing stablecoins, leaving conflicts of interest between the industry and traditional finance still sharp.
• Bitcoin order-book depth halves over past 6 months… crypto market liquidity worsens
• Bitcoin sees buying clustered at $60,000 to $70,000… bargain-hunting confirmed
Bitcoin again swung within the $60,000 to $70,000 range this week. Futures leverage is reducing price volatility, while spot buying and demand from short-term holders have not clearly rebounded. Still, open interest is nearing $25 billion, raising the prospect of a new short squeeze. Another analysis said bargain-hunting has been confirmed in the $60,000 to $70,000 band.
Even as geopolitical tensions rise, an unusual pattern has persisted in which the price of gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, is weak, spreading a view that bitcoin is being put to a full test as a store of value as “digital gold.” News that the U.S. government transferred about 328,000 seized coins to Coinbase also acted as a short-term uncertainty factor for the market.
• XRP holds key support line, bottoming signal emerges?… possible drop to $0.8
• XRP $1,000 theory flares again… XRPL validator: ‘Dreamers win’
Views were sharply split this week, with an analysis saying XRP is showing a bottoming signal after holding a key support line, while another warned it could slide as far as $0.8 if it falls. Attention to a possible trend reversal increased after data was released showing XRP whales accumulated 130 million tokens over the past month.
The $1,000 XRP theory remains at the centre of debate. Some, including XRPL validators, are maintaining optimism, saying “dreamers win,” but counterarguments are also strong that such expectations are excessive given the current market capitalisation and market structure. As an analysis spread that selling timing matters more than position size in determining investment performance, the importance of a phased selling strategy has come back into focus.
• Bitcoin vs XRP: which crypto has lower quantum risk?… analysis of response structures
• Will quantum computers crack bitcoin?… academia: ‘Sun-level energy needed, low feasibility’
A quantum-computing attack scenario targeting bitcoin’s real-time transaction characteristics became a fresh topic of discussion this week. A joint research team from Google and Caltech published a paper saying the cryptographic systems of bitcoin and ethereum could be broken with fewer qubits than previously expected, raising concerns that the point when quantum threats become real could come sooner than earlier forecasts.
Academia has also pushed back. One analysis said breaking bitcoin’s cryptography would require sun-level energy, making it unrealistic, while the market also showed a pre-emptive response, including a 40 percent surge in the quantum-resistant coin QRL.
• Skipping banks and cards… stablecoins to overtake Visa and Mastercard in 2035 volume
• Iran Strait of Hormuz tolls: stablecoins more feasible than bitcoin
Stablecoin growth remained a key theme this week. A Standard Chartered report said average monthly stablecoin velocity has doubled over the past 2 years, and forecast that stablecoin transaction volume will overtake Visa and Mastercard in 2035. It said Circle’s USDC has led the replacement of payments and traditional finance and the expansion of AI payments.
Stablecoins also drew attention in a geopolitical context. An analysis said stablecoins are more realistic than bitcoin as a means for Iran to collect tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, showing a trend in which stablecoins are moving beyond a simple investment asset to become part of international payments infrastructure. Ripple’s CEO also said his company’s stablecoin would be a “disruptive innovation comparable to ChatGPT” in the mass adoption of crypto.
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