Stable Coin vs CBDC vs Tokenized Deposit focusing on East Asia(Japan and Korea)
Purpose
(1)To understand the difference between Stable Coin, CBDC and Tokenized Deposit.
(2)To take a look at the current status of above three in Korea and Japan
The 7 Key Differences
| Dimension | CBDC | Stablecoin | Bank Deposit Token (or tokenized deposit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Issuer & Ultimate Authority | Central Bank (sovereign government) | Private company (e.g., Circle, Tether, JPYC, Progmat) | Commercial bank (licensed financial institution) |
| 2. Legal Status & Claims | Legal tender - direct claim on central bank | Private liability - claim on issuer's reserves | Bank liability - tokenized claim on deposit |
| 3. Risk & Guarantee | Risk-free (sovereign backed) | Credit risk on issuer; depends on reserve quality | Bank credit risk; deposit insurance up to limits |
| 4. Accessibility & Distribution | Universal access for all citizens (retail CBDC) or banks only (wholesale CBDC) | Open to anyone with crypto wallet; permissionless (Progmat coin will be using hybrid approach of permissioned and permissionless) |
Requires banking relationship; permissioned |
| 5. Value Backing & Stability Mechanism | Sovereign fiat currency itself (not backed - IS the currency) | Backed by fiat reserves, bonds, or algorithms | Backed by actual bank deposits 1:1 |
| 6. Impact on Monetary Policy | Direct monetary policy tool; central bank controls supply | Operates parallel to monetary system; minimal direct impact | Affects money multiplier and bank liquidity management |
| 7. Primary Purpose & Design Intent | Sovereign digital currency for payments & policy; public good | Private payment rail for crypto ecosystem & cross-border transfers; profit-driven | Modernize commercial banking; enable programmable deposits; efficiency tool |
Focus on East Asia
(1) CBDC for Japan and Korea as of Nov 2025.
Ongoing experiments, details of their progress shared on their website.
BOK: https://www.bok.or.kr/eng/main/contents.do?menuNo=400411
BOJ: https://www.boj.or.jp/en/paym/digital/index.htm
(2) Stable coin
| Country | Regulation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Live | JPYC, Progmat Coin |
| Republic of Korea | Proposed | KRWQ |
Source: https://tracker.stride.sc/country.html?id=410
(3) tokenized deposit
| Country | Regulation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Live Deposit tokenization under existing banking law; distinct from stablecoins |
DCJPY |
| Republic of Korea | Pilot phase | - |
Source: https://www.abeam.com/kr/en/insights/090/#comparison-of-stablecoins-and-tokenized-deposits
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