[Bank of Korea Launches Second Phase of Digital Won Pilot, Expands to Nine Commercial Banks] According to Deep Tide TechFlow on March 18, as reported by CoinDesk, the Bank of Korea (BOK) has officially launched the second phase of its digital won pilot project. This phase involves collaboration with nine commercial banks to conduct real-world testing of deposit tokens, covering scenarios such as government subsidy distribution, nationwide consumer payments, and transfer services. The project, named 'Project Hangang,' adds Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank to the original seven participating banks. Together, they are testing deposit tokens pegged to the Korean won, built on the underlying architecture of wholesale central bank digital currency (Wholesale CBDC). One of the core objectives is to reduce payment costs, providing a low-cost payment alternative for large enterprises and small-to-medium-sized merchants burdened by high credit card fees.