Korea's NHN KCP runs a 2-second stablecoin payment pilot on Avalanche

South Korean payment processor NHN KCP has confirmed it is running a commercial-feasibility pilot for stablecoin-based payments, marking one of the most concrete steps yet by a major Korean payments firm toward live blockchain settlement.

How the Pilot Works

The test is built on a payments-focused mainnet developed in cooperation with Avalanche (@avax). NHN KCP is working with Avalanche on this payments-focused mainnet and linking it with the Payco easy-pay service to test stablecoin payment use cases across online and offline environments. Specifically, the pilot covers online gift certificate purchases inside the Payco app, as well as offline payments at the cafe and cafeteria in the company's Seoul headquarters.

Roughly 700 employees are participating in the pilot, making daily payments with stablecoins by scanning a QR code, with each transaction finalized in no more than two seconds. NHN KCP says it also built what it calls the industry's first stablecoin payment admin page, a dashboard offering real-time transaction and payment tracking that requires no specialized knowledge, so merchants can monitor blockchain settlement data without any crypto expertise.

NHN KCP (Korea Cyber Payment) is the primary backbone of South Korean e-commerce, having processed an annual transaction value exceeding $38 billion in 2025. Working with Ava Labs, the company has built a dedicated Avalanche Layer 1 blockchain infrastructure to underpin its payment systems.

Next Steps and Broader Context

NHN KCP plans to upgrade the system based on proof-of-concept transaction data and operational experience, while sharing the results with financial institutions and major merchants to discuss commercialization. The company ultimately plans to scale beyond the pilot, expanding its system to include banks, merchants, and other payment service providers, though an official date for commercial launch has not yet been set.

The pilot sits within a wider institutional push around Avalanche in Asia. Avalanche has been expanding its footprint in South Korea, with KB Kookmin Card, one of the country's largest credit card companies, also announcing a hybrid stablecoin payment model on the network. In Japan, TIS, which handles around 50% of the country's total credit card transactions, has rolled out its Multi-Token Platform on Avalanche for minting stablecoins and security tokens.

NHN KCP's roadmap calls for a virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration application in the third quarter, and a mainnet launch in the fourth quarter, alongside full-scale transaction settlement and expansion of its B2B business. According to Justin Kim, the head of Ava Labs Asia, the release of the Layer 1 mainnet depends largely on the regulatory classification of South Korean authorities for stablecoins and the issuance parties licensed by them.

Sources
The Block: South Korean payments provider NHN KCP to build own Layer 1 on Avalanche
Avalanche: How Avalanche is Powering Asia's Financial Revolution
Bloomingbit: NHN KCP to Launch Avalanche-Based Stablecoin Payment Pilot Linked to PAYCO