The Bank of Korea(BOK) is considering the possibility of introducing a blockchain while pushing for pilot testing of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The Bank of Korea's motive for pushing for CBDC pilot program was influenced by the many governments' actions.
Until now, it has been pushing for trial issuance of CBDCs mainly for the purpose of improving finance in developing countries such as Ecuador and Uruguay.
Recently, Sweden and China are also actively preparing for issuance in response to the emergence of private digital currency amid declining cash use.
The United States and Japan, which said they had no plan to issue CBDCs in the near future, also changed their stance to strengthen related research. The Bank of Korea said the move is aimed at first responding to such changes in the internal and external payment environment.
The Bank of Korea said it was reviewing technical and legal needs for the introduction of CBDCs while establishing and implementing plans to implement pilot systems and testing.
22-month pilot scheme
The Bank of Korea plans to push ahead with related details for a total of 22-months. As part of the technical review, the first review implementation technologies that meet CBDC design and technical requirements and also examine the possibilities of using blockchain technologies. In addition, legal issues such as the authority to issue CBDCs and legal relations with financial institutions and the private sector will be reviewed, it said.
