Trademarks such as "iMKRW" and "KRWiM" are exposed, and iM Bank is working hard on the Korean won stablecoin track

iM Bank (formerly known as DGB Daegu Bank) recently applied to the Intellectual Property Office to register 12 trademarks related to Korean won stablecoins, including "iMKRW", "iMST" and "KRWiM". Most of the names are based on the Korean won (KRW), combined with the new name "iM" adopted by the bank after the transformation. This move is seen as an important signal for the bank to enter the digital currency market, especially the Korean won stablecoin track.

As South Korea's virtual asset regulatory policies gradually become clear, stablecoins are becoming a key area of focus for traditional financial institutions. In recent years, the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission have repeatedly expressed their support for "trusted and regulated" stablecoin innovations, and are also open to Korean won stablecoins issued by banks. Some commercial banks have begun to carry out technical research and development and market pre-research to seize the new blue ocean of financial technology that is about to open up.

iM Bank was originally a local financial institution. In recent years, it has accelerated its commercial transformation and continued to make efforts in the fields of payment, financial technology and virtual assets. The trademark application shows that it may be preparing to issue its own won stablecoin product, and also reflects the collective bet of the Korean banking system on the future potential of stablecoins.

Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce global stablecoin competition, the Korean market is gradually emerging with local compliant stablecoin solutions, which may become an important stablecoin development test site in Asia in the future.

About iM Bank

iM Bank, formerly known as DGB Daegu Bank, is the first local bank in South Korea. It was established in 1967 and serves Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. In May 2024, it obtained national commercial bank qualifications, becoming the first case in South Korea in 32 years to upgrade from a local bank to a national commercial bank, and completed the name change to iM Bank on June 5.

After the name change, iM Bank not only changed the brand soup but also the medicine, but also emphasized the concept of "in the Moment" through the new brand "iM", highlighting digitalization, convenience and national coverage. All financial service subsidiaries of the group, including securities, asset management and payment platforms, also adopted the "iM" brand to achieve brand unification and future expansion strategy.

The main purpose of the name change is to cooperate with Daegu Bank's strategy after its transformation into a national commercial bank: on the one hand, to achieve geographical expansion and open new branches in Seoul, Busan, Chungcheong, Gangwon and other places; on the other hand, to highlight the digital financial strategy and use the "iM" brand to better reflect its "digital + national" dual-core driving positioning.