Kakao to integrate stablecoin payments across apps ahead of Jan 2027 split

South Korea’s Kakao is rolling out won-denominated stablecoin payments across its major consumer apps and expanding AI-generated content, as the tech conglomerate prepares to split into two separate companies on January 1, 2027.

What happened

On October 13, 2026, Kakao held a briefing for securities analysts at its AI campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, laying out medium-to-long-term growth plans for its key subsidiaries. The company confirmed it will integrate a won-denominated stablecoin (a cryptocurrency pegged 1:1 to the Korean won) into its flagship services: Kakao Talk’s gifting and shopping features, webtoon (Korean digital comics) and music streaming platforms, live event ticketing, and Kakao T (its ride-hailing and mobility app). The payments infrastructure is being built through a group-wide stablecoin task force that includes Kakao, Kakao Bank, and Kakao Pay — covering everything from coin issuance to custody.

On the content side, subsidiary Kakao Piccoma plans to have roughly 80 AI-generated anime series running by the end of 2026. Paid revenue from AI animation hit 4.5 times its May 2026 launch-month level by September 2026. From 2027, Piccoma will also produce AI live-action footage and animation adapted from novels. A new BL (boys’ love) genre platform is also planned.

In mobility, Kakao is positioning Kakao T’s financial arm to fund large-scale investment in robotaxis and robot trucks through vehicle leasing and asset securitization (converting future lease income into tradeable securities). Kakao X’s stated revenue target is 10 trillion won (roughly $7 billion) by 2030.

Why Korea does it this way

Korea’s digital payments market is highly consolidated around super-apps — Kakao Talk alone has over 47 million domestic users, making it a natural rail for financial services. Korean regulators have been building a framework for won-backed stablecoins that would sit inside existing financial supervision rather than outside it, which is why Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay (both licensed financial entities) are central to the task force rather than a separate crypto unit. Kakao’s planned spin-off into KakaoAI and Kakao X mirrors a broader trend among Korean conglomerates (chaebols) of carving out AI units to attract dedicated investment and clearer valuation multiples.

What it means for you

Kakao Talk users: If the stablecoin rollout proceeds on schedule, gifting and in-app shopping payments could be settled in won-pegged crypto rather than credit cards or Kakao Pay balance — no date confirmed yet beyond “pursuing” the integration.

Webtoon and Piccoma readers: AI-generated anime content is already monetized and growing fast (4.5× revenue in four months). Expect more AI-adapted titles in 2027, particularly novel-to-animation conversions. The new BL genre service is also coming.

Investors in Korean-listed equities: Kakao (KRX: 035720) is splitting on January 1, 2027 into Kakao AI and Kakao X. Kakao X will hold the fintech, content, and mobility businesses with a stated 10 trillion won revenue target for 2030. The four announced independent director candidates for Kakao X include former Morgan Stanley Korea IB head Cho Sang-wook, signaling a capital-markets-oriented board. Check current index weighting and share price at KRX or your broker — no investment advice implied.

Autonomous vehicle watchers: Kakao T is not building robotaxis itself but plans to finance them — vehicle leasing and securitization of autonomous fleet assets. This is a capital intermediary play, not a hardware bet.

Watch next

• January 1, 2027: Kakao’s legal spin-off date — Kakao AI and Kakao X become separate listed entities. Watch for final shareholder vote confirmation and share allocation ratio, which had not been publicly disclosed as of this report.
• End of 2026 (exact date not set): Kakao Piccoma’s target of ~80 AI anime series live. If the count falls short, it signals production bottlenecks in AI content pipelines — a metric worth tracking for the sector.
• Regulatory trigger (date not set — decided by Korea’s Financial Services Commission): Won-stablecoin legal framework approval. The stablecoin payment integrations cannot launch commercially until FSC (Financial Services Commission, Korea’s top financial regulator) finalizes its virtual asset payment rules; check FSC announcements for the regulatory green light.

FAQ

When will Kakao stablecoin payments launch in Kakao T and Kakao Talk?

No confirmed launch date has been announced — Kakao described the integration as a plan it is “pursuing.” The rollout depends on regulatory approval from Korea’s FSC; the article does not give a specific go-live date for any individual app.

What happens to Kakao stock when it splits into Kakao AI and Kakao X in 2027?

Kakao approved the spin-off in August 2026 with an effective date of January 1, 2027, creating two separate entities — Kakao AI (new AI business) and Kakao X (fintech, content, mobility). The article does not state the share allocation ratio; check KRX filings or your broker for the latest terms.

Source: Electronic Times (전자신문)