South Korea’s Central Bank Focuses on Blockchain and CBDCs in New Ten-Year Plan

South Korea’s central bank, The Bank of Korea, is ramping up its efforts on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), as local media outlets reported on June 9 that there is an increase in research efforts, hirings and collaboration in the space. The report, which says that the central bank is looking at being ‘more flexible and in line with the changes in the times,’ describes the BOK 2030 ten-year plan for the nation’s economy, which hopes to bring information and information communication technology to internal and policy management. The overall strategy is quite detailed and paints a positive future for blockchain technology in the country. Officials are looking into multiple initiatives to promote the use of innovative technology, but not before ensuring that legal and technical standards are set in place.

Blockchain a Top Priority in Korea

The ten-year development strategy appears to prioritize blockchain technology over many other lucrative technologies, as accelerating CBDC research is emphasized in the report. As is the case with all CBDCs, South Korean officials are examining making a cryptocurrency but one that is controlled by the central bank. A research organization was created in February to extend the efforts in CBDC research, which also paved the way for related pilot projects that are currently being tested. Further evidence of interest lies in the fact that a CBDC legal advisory group will be launched next week, in order to manage legal requirements. Furthermore, later this year, officials will announce a ‘digital innovation room’ to expand research on various new technologies. The plan is to build the infrastructure and support systems necessary for this change in the second half of 2020.

CBDC Interest Shows No Signs of Stopping

The interest in researching and developing CBDCs has picked up considerably. Indeed, while it began with China and other crypto-friendly nations, the desire to switch to a more innovative solution, as well as resist private cryptocurrencies, has now taken hold in many countries and industries. The United States has been mostly quiet on the topic of CBDCs. The most insight we have into new developments have been coming from Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard saying that the government was open to the idea. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia also published an in-depth report on CBDCs, which spoke about both the positive and negative consequences of a digital nation currency. Massimo Buonomo, a financial expert recommended by the UN Alliance of Civilizations, speaking to CryptoCompare and Bequant, spoke of the benefits of digital currencies,

[It] allows you to hold digital money, it lets you pay the bills, use the mobile phone without credit cards, with no fees to credit card processing companies and no fees to banks for money transfers.