Bitcoin Daily: Bank Of Korea Seeks Partner For CBDC Program

Bitcoin Daily: Bank of Korea Seeks Partner For CBDC Program

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is speeding up its efforts to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) experimental program, The Korea Times reported. BOK reportedly intends to release more information on a consulting collaboration with a local firm.

A possible partner will assist the central bank in making a CBDC system framework based on the results from the first stage’s research results. In July, BOK had completed its first-stage review prior to getting the CBDC pilot system ready.

“The BOK will team up with a consulting partner to map out the overall work process and architecture to operate the digital currency system, and both sides will also come up with specific action plans to successfully establish the pilot system on time,” a BOK official said, per the report.

Companies who wish to team up on the effort can make an application to the central bank. BOK did not reportedly indicate the timing of its choice.

In June, news surfaced that BOK had rolled out a legal advisory group to examine the possible hurdles to making a CBDC a reality. The group’s start was part of the BOK’s first stage to make a CBDC. It will reportedly work up to the end of May 2021 at the soonest, per news at the time.

In separate CBDC news from the region, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) reportedly said that a test of CBDC has been geared toward small retail transactions — and has not encompassed large-value transactions, per news in August.

“At its current stage, the test’s primary goal is to ensure the digital currency’s operation runs smoothly and safely, and to determine how DCEP is distributed from the central bank to financial institutions,” Renmin University’s Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence Assistant Professor Wang Peng said, per past reports.