South Korean Central Bank Enters Phase 2 of CBDC Development; Seeks Consulting Partner

The Bank of Korea (BoK) has advanced its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiative following a recent call for collaboration with a private consultancy. This move will set ground for the second phase of South Korea’s CBDC with a speculated pilot launch in 2021.

First reported by the Korea Times, this call for a partnership signals the country’s intention to be among the CBDC leaders once crypto tokenomics goes mainstream. Currently, China has already taken the lead in this niche, having piloted the digital yuan ‘DC/EP’ back in April. It has since been integrated with several ecosystems in China’s economy with major cities like Beijing and Hong Kong now being featured in the pilot.

With South Korea eyeing the tokenomics dominance race as well, the country’s Central Bank noted that the second phase of its CBDC will be more practical. A suitable private partner is expected to contribute towards the bank’s CBDC architecture, whose basis is the initial review phase done in July. Some of the architectural aspects that will feature in the second phase include data handling, feasible applications, and ecosystem security. A BoK official stated,

“The BOK will team up with a consulting partner to map out the overall work process and architecture to operate the digital currency system.”

As the crypto bulls continue to rally, monetary authorities appear to pay more attention by the day. The latest milestone by South Korea is just but a tip of the iceberg; other stakeholders including the European Union, are also looking into the feasibility of a digital Euro. So far, France and Italy have shown goodwill to participate in the pilot tests, should one launch shortly.