South Korea Plans Blockchain Deposit Token Pilot for Government Spending in Q4 2026

Gate News message, April 16 — South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance announced plans to launch a blockchain-based deposit token pilot program in Sejong City during the fourth quarter of 2026, according to CoinDesk. The initiative, approved under the 2026 regulatory sandbox program, will replace traditional government procurement card payments with tokenized deposit transactions.

The pilot allows institutions to pay business promotion expenses in the form of deposit tokens, with preset spending limits and designated industry categories. Tokenized payments are designed to reduce manual audit requirements and lower transaction fees for small businesses by eliminating intermediaries such as credit card networks.

This marks the second application of deposit tokens in fiscal operations; the first pilot was conducted in an electric vehicle charging infrastructure subsidy program. If the Q4 trial proves successful, South Korea’s Ministry of Finance plans to expand the program further.