Kakao Bank Hires Devs for Won-Pegged Stablecoin Push

• Kakao Bank has moved its stablecoin project to the development phase, initiating a key hiring drive.
• The bank is recruiting blockchain engineers to build a Korean Won-pegged digital asset.
• This accelerates the race against Naver, despite ongoing regulatory disputes in South Korea.

South Korea’s Kakao Bank has advanced its stablecoin initiative to the development stage, leading to an advertisement seeking applicants with the required skills and experience to approach the financial institution for a potential one-year contract. This move signals an aggressive push to compete with rival tech giant Naver in the digital finance race.

The recruitment drive focuses on the bank’s “New Business Service Development Team.” This unit is tasked with building the backend systems required to issue and manage a regulated digital currency.

Related: The Biggest Banks in South Korea Team Up to Create a New Crypto

Building the Infrastructure: EVM and Smart Contract Focus

As included in the advertisement, the job description of the sought developer includes blockchain service backend development, the development of key management and security systems, the development and operation of monitoring systems, and the development and operation of a back office, which would also serve as the administrator page.

Kakao was specific in the talent, skills, and experience it requires from anyone applying for the development role. According to the bank, applicants must have at least three years of experience in backend development and be able to design a DB schema that ensures transaction integrity. 

Additional Skills are an Added Advantage

Additionally, interested applicants must have a deep understanding of blockchain (Reorg, PoS, PoW), be interested in clean code, and have testing automation capabilities. They must also possess active communication skills. Meanwhile, additional skills such as understanding the ABI of smart contracts written in Solidity, experience in calling and managing contract functions using libraries, and an understanding of token standards would give any applicant an added advantage.

Related: KakaoPay Stock Surges Over 200% After Filing for a KRW-Backed Stablecoin

Meanwhile, applicants with experience in transaction management, such as signature, transfer, and nonce management, including those knowledgeable in operating a full node on Geth and Parity, also stand a higher chance of landing the one-year contract.

Working Conditions for Successful Applicants

The Kakao team was clear about the employment conditions, stating that successful candidates would be employed on a contract basis for one year with the possibility of extension for an additional year. Intakes will work under the bank’s New Business Service Development Team, operating locally from its Pangyo Office. 

The ‘Race for the Won’: Kakao vs. Naver

Kakao’s acceleration comes as its primary rival, Naver, strengthens its own position. 

Naver is currently in the process of a merger with Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. This consolidation has intensified the competition to dominate the future of digital payments in the country.