South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit said it is not participating in the Open USD issuance after its operator Dunamu was among more than 140 companies involved in a modern stablecoin initiative.
“Upbit has merely indicated our potential willingness to consider participating in the future expansion of the OpenStandard ecosystem,” an Upbit spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
The clarifications follow similar reactions from Samsung Electronics and other South Korean companies listed on the Open Standard exchange.
According to in a Friday ChosunBiz report, Samsung said it had not held formal talks with the project and did not know what role it would play. Meanwhile, Shinhan Financial Group and KBank reportedly said they only indicated they would consider the initiative.
Cointelegraph contacted Open Standard for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Excerpt from the list of companies listed by Open Standard. Source: Open standard
Open Standard announced the launch of a dollar-backed stablecoin on Tuesday, saying more than 140 companies have “signed up to use it,” including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google, Samsung Electronics and Dunamu.
Open Standard previously said companies would be able to mint and exchange OUSD without fees or volume restrictions. The project also plans to distribute profits generated from reserves among participating companies.
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However, some industry participants, including Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, questioned the sustainability of offering free, unlimited mintage and redemption. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Valente, research director at ARK Invest, also called the announcement a “gigantic” letter of intent.
South Korea’s stablecoin rules remain unfinished
South Korea has yet to adopt the Basic Law on Digital Assets, leaving questions about who can issue stablecoins and what role companies can play.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, lawmakers have been debating whether issuance should be constrained to banks or opened to qualified non-bank issuers, while a broader regulatory framework remains under discussion.
The uncertainty is also making it arduous for South Korean companies to engage in stablecoin initiatives as rules governing issuance, reserve management and participation in stablecoin ecosystems have not yet been finalized.
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