Bank of Korea prepares for live CBDC transactions with 9 banks in September

The Bank of Korea's cardinal slope integer currency (CBDC) plans are moving guardant with 9 participating banks.

The 2nd signifier of BOK's CBDC programme is scheduled for September with real-transaction testing, Yonhap News Agency reported connected Monday.

"The Bank of Korea volition supply the infrastructure for the organization CBDC, and each slope volition behaviour its ain concern utilizing deposit tokens," a BOK authoritative told YNA. "From the 2nd phase, we volition laic the groundwork for commercialization."

The BOK’s 2nd signifier volition grow to see a full of 9 participating banks, including Gyeongnam Bank and iM Bank. The country’s apical 3 banks, KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori Financial Group, are besides participating successful the CBDC project.

"The extremity is to make an situation wherever the won tin beryllium traded freely careless of clip oregon place," Yonhap quoted the authorities arsenic saying.

CBDCs are a integer signifier of blockchain-based fiat currency that are managed by the issuing cardinal slope and considered ineligible tender. Only a fistful of countries person officially introduced a CBDC. Bahamas unveiled 1 successful October 2020, Nigeria successful 2021, and Jamaica successful 2022, according to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker.

The tracker shows 41 countries are investigating a CBDC, 33 much person 1 successful development, portion 15 person them inactive and 9 others cancelled them. The U.S. Senate passed a measure that included a four-year ban connected CBDCs past month, but President Donald Trump has enactment signing it into instrumentality connected hold.

The BOK’s announcement comes arsenic South Korean banks are gathering their ain stablecoin infrastructure. Hana Bank has started designing the systems needed to enactment a aboriginal won-backed stablecoin, including issuance, redemption, settlement, integer wallets and anti-money laundering controls, according to section media reports. The slope has not committed to issuing a stablecoin, but is preparing its infrastructure up of authorities arsenic lenders presumption themselves for expected contention successful the sector.

Shin Hyun-son, who was named Bank of Korea Governor successful April, utilized his archetypal code successful bureau to prioritize the CBDC and BOK-issued deposit tokens.

The South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance announced plans to update its seven-decade-old nationalist plus instrumentality to classify cryptocurrencies arsenic nationalist assets. That announcement builds connected the country’s broader propulsion to bring blockchain into nationalist finance.