South Korea's Shinhan Bank Builds Pilot Platform for Central Bank Digital Currency

The Seoul-based bank built the blockchain-based platform in preparation for a role as intermediary should a digital won be launched.

AccessTimeIconMar 10, 2021 at 3:44 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:24 p.m. UTC
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Shinhan Bank has built a pilot platform for a potential South Korean central bank digital currency (CBDC) with assistance from LG CNS.

  • The Seoul-headquartered bank built the blockchain-based platform in preparation for the issuance of a CBDC by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the Yonhap News Agency reported Monday.
  • According to a Shinhan Bank official, should the central bank decide to move forward with the issuance, it would require an intermediary agency to distribute and encourage use of the digital won.
  • The platform divides the CBDC's issuance into general funds for individuals and disaster support funds issued to support businesses and local government.
  • The BOK has conducted research into the issuance of a CBDC, results for which were published in February.
  • The central bank has yet to decide whether the digital won would be distributed directly to consumers or via an intermediary such as Shinhan Bank.

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