Bank of Korea Creates CBDC Researching Task Force

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has recently undertaken a crucial step towards the adoption of the Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) trend. Reportedly, the bank will now organize a task force dedicated to further CBDC research and improve it further from its current level.

New Dedicated Research Group

As per a local report made by the Korea Times, the BOK showed its intent today to develop a CBDC-specialised research group to help further its development. The intention was included within the bank’s “Monetary Policy for 2020” and shows that the research will mainly target innovations. These innovations include things like cryptocurrencies, CBDCs, and distributed ledger technology.

On top of this, the BOK will further organize a specialized task force. This task force’s sole imperative is to further a better understanding of digital assets and how they operate. In the light of the global trend of the world’s central banks adopting the idea of CBDCs, the BOK will subsequently hire additional experts.

Pushing Further Research of CBDCs

In a statement, the bank states its intent to be inactive engagement when it comes to discussions with the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). These discussions, along with similar ones with other international organizations, is in regards to keeping their fingers on the pulse of CBDCs and its development at other central banks.

Hong Kyong-sik, the head of the BOK’s payment and settlement systems department, has reportedly stated to the public that the BOK has plans of launching its own form of cryptocurrency. After the rampant rise of media attention such a statement draws, a BOK spokesman denied these claims. He tried to make a clarifying statement, expressing the bank’s plans to bolster its CBDC research efforts further.

Need to Embrace Digital Currencies

Agustin Carstens, the General Manager of the BIS, recently discussed the rising trend of cryptocurrencies. While the man himself is still against all established cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin included, he urged central banks to embrace the new revolution in digital money. He pushed this statement home by explaining that central banks have a responsibility to stay up to date with the global payments system. Should central banks do otherwise, Carstens warns of being overtaken by other firms.

The newfound CBDC arms race started off this year, with China pushing every other nation in overdrive by announcing a pilot program for its own currency. Quite recently, the Bank of Russia was in the spotlight. The country’s central bank’s head explained that the country has already started testing of a digital currency. The experiment, so far, is only within a regulated sandbox, but might very well be the final step before being fully released to the public.