- Tourists can now exchange USD stablecoins for KRW digital vouchers at lower FX costs.
- Project Namsan aims to expand stablecoin use beyond tourism into retail and finance sectors.
SOOHO.IO, a Korean blockchain firm, has teamed up with Chainlink to run a foreign exchange pilot for visitors in South Korea. The test allows foreign tourists to deposit USD-based stablecoins and receive digital vouchers in Korean won (KRW) that can be used for payments. According to the companies involved, the process cuts currency exchange costs by over 30% compared to traditional FX methods.
Meanwhile, the pilot is being carried out under Project Namsan, a new initiative formed by a consortium of local tech and infrastructure companies. It includes support from Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), a government-run company that operates the “Seven Luck” casinos. These casinos, which cater to non-Korean customers, attract more than 1.5 million tourists each year.
SOOHO․IO (@soohoio), a blockchain technology company advancing digital asset infrastructure in Korea, and Chainlink are driving a major initiative under Project Namsan, a consortium of leading Korean technology and infrastructure providers focused on building the foundational… pic.twitter.com/aiKi8NthuB
— Chainlink (@chainlink) September 22, 2025
Verified Settlements Using Chainlink Infrastructure
Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) and Proof of Reserve are used in the system to manage settlement and asset verification. The model ensures that digital KRW vouchers are issued only after confirming that stablecoin deposits have been received. This setup follows a Delivery-vs-Payment (DvP) approach.
The CCIP protocol links different public and private blockchains, while Proof of Reserve monitors the backing of digital assets on an ongoing basis. This helps confirm that all reserves are valid and available at the time of issuance. Chainlink representatives said the protocol uses the same infrastructure that has supported over $100 billion in value across decentralized finance platforms.
Additionally, SOOHO.IO had earlier worked with the Bank of Korea on a program called Purpose Bound Money (PBM). This system lets senders attach restrictions to how digital money is used. Project Namsan builds on that concept by using similar controls in the KRW voucher model for tourists.
Jisu Park, CEO of SOOHO.IO, said:
“We will faithfully fulfill our role as a trusted clearing and settlement partner to ensure financial institutions throughout the Asia-Pacific region can safely utilize and distribute stablecoins.”
The current pilot phase is limited to tourism-related use, but further expansion could bring the model into retail or banking environments.
Chainlink Extends Network Activity in Asia
Chainlink has continued to grow its network activity in Asia. In addition to working with SOOHO.IO, the team has partnered with SBI Holdings in Japan and DigiFT in Hong Kong. The project in Hong Kong, developed with UBS Tokenize, was recently approved under the Cyberport Blockchain & Digital Asset Pilot Subsidy Scheme.
As BTCDaily reported, the company is also collaborating with the U.S. Department of Commerce to make economic data available on-chain. Chainlink reports that it now secures more than $100 billion in value across different sectors.
As of press time, the price of LINK was at around $21. Trading volume over the past 24 hours is $1.24 billion. The token has dropped by 8% in the last day and is down 9% over the week.
