The Bank of Korea will hold trials for its CBDC project from April to June, according to a local media report.
This pilot, named "Hangang," is expected to involve 100,000 participants and seven major local banks, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori Bank.
When the BOK issues pilot CBDCs, participants can convert their bank deposits into tokenized deposits to pay local vendors, including convenience stores, coffee shops, supermarkets and online shops.
Local news outlet JoongAng-Ilbo reported that mobile banking apps would make payments via QR payment functions.
With the experiment, the BOK plans to examine whether distributed ledger technology can replace the traditional settlement method of local banks that rely on central bank reserves.
A BOK representative reportedly said that tokenized deposit payments can minimize involvement of intermediaries in transactions and enable merchants to receive real-time settlements.
According to the report, the maximum number of deposit tokens an individual participant can hold is one million Korean won, which is about $689. Participants can top up their one million won deposit token limit to a total maximum of five million won. Participants will also be able to convert the tokenized bank deposits back into cash.
The Block has reached out to the BOK for further comments on the CBDC trial.
While the South Korean central bank is forging ahead with its CBDC efforts, it recently announced that it has not considered creating a bitcoin reserve in its foreign exchange holdings. The BOK said that bitcoin does not satisfy IMF standards for such reserves.
"However, we plan to closely monitor any future discussions, particularly those centered around the IMF, regarding the potential inclusion of virtual assets in foreign exchange reserves," a BOK representative told The Block via email.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
