Bank of Korea (BOK) Has Plans For Own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has recently announced interest in having a Central Bank Digital Currency. The guidelines for this new crypto are planned to be released by June. The BOK has also stated that the coin would have a trial phase before it was launched for real.

BOK To Release New Cryptocurrency After Tests

Reports state that the The Bank of Korea (BOK) has been thinking about this since January. While the Korean bank stated that it is “too soon” to say for sure if a cryptocurrency will be launched, it probably will, but it depends on a test phase that will start soon.

The bank described the cryptocurrencies as “uncharted waters” and the institution is concerned about the economic impact that this can cause to the market and how it could affect it.

On the other hand, there are reports that the South Korean government has been flirting with the idea of digital currency since 2016, so there is a fair chance that after the trial phase the new token will, indeed, be launched.

Cryptocurrency Controversies In South Korea

During the first months of 2018, there were reports that the government would ban ICOs and cryptocurrency from the country. As a matter of fact, the government has refuted these claims later but the cryptocurrency market still experiences some level of uncertainty in the Korean market despite being huge there.

Reports state that Hong Nam-ki, the Minister of Government Policy Coordination, has announced that there is still not a consensus about how to handle the cryptocurrency situation in the country. In any case, we will likely see developments of this situation until the end of the first half of 2018.