South Korea's KB Card Partners with Avalanche to Launch "Hybrid Stablecoin" Credit Card

March 31: KB Card—one of South Korea’s largest credit card firms—announced a partnership with Avalanche to launch a hybrid stablecoin credit card payment model. Leveraging KB Card’s hybrid payment patent, the model integrates stablecoins with traditional credit cards: Users can link their digital wallets to existing credit cards, prioritize stablecoin balances for payments, and have any remaining amount automatically deducted from their credit cards. KB Card also revealed a collaboration with digital asset infrastructure firm OpenAsset to build a full stablecoin system covering recharge, payment, and settlement. This will lower barriers to stablecoin use while preserving credit card rewards and perks. South Korea is currently ramping up its won-denominated stablecoin market. The country’s “Digital Assets Basic Act” is expected to establish a regulatory framework this year, with multiple banks and payment providers preparing related products.