In a press release issued on Monday, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said that it had completed the first stage of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital Won trials.
Many central banks worldwide are considering the use of fiat currencies in their economies. Also, the financial revolution is taking centre stage across the board. South Korea ranks as one of the most developed Asian economies exploring the launch of a CBDC. The country is inaugurating a panel to accelerate its CBDC pursuit as far back as June 2020.
Moreover, Yonhap News Agency also reported that the first trial was launched back in August 2021 and completed in December. The result revealed that the CBDC showed normal operations in a cloud-based environment.
Also, the milestone was achieved in the first trial stage. It is significant to the development of the Digital Won. The apex bank said there are more functionalities to test out in the second stage:
“We will confirm the possibility of operating various functions, such as offline settlements, and the application of new technologies, such as one intended to strengthen privacy protection during the second phase of the test,” the BOK said in a press release.
The Second Phase of Digital Won Project
The second phase of the trial is about to commence right away. It may expand till June 22 this year.
No Asian central bank has officially launched a CBDC to date. Therefore, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) are accountable for developing the world’s most sophisticated CBDC to date.
The country’s e-CNY project has been in advanced testing for a very long time. The PBoC has notably developed a digital wallet for the new legal tender accessible on Chinese-focused Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, respectively.
The timeline for the launch of the e-CNY is not confirm by the officials yet.
