The Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission and other institutions signed a CBDC and tokenized deposit pilot agreement

Recently, the Bank of Korea signed a usability testing agreement for the CBDC and tokenized deposit pilot with the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the Financial Services Commission (FSC). As reported in September, the Bank of Korea is preparing to conduct a tokenized deposit trial for about 100,000 people, and announced formal plans for such a trial a year ago, combining a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) for interbank settlement. In June, MSIT and the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) provided the Bank of Korea with a budget to develop a voucher program using smartphones, which can be used to purchase welfare, cultural, educational and other goods and services. As a result, the Bank of Korea has developed a digital voucher management platform that aims to address the settlement complexity and fraud potential associated with paper vouchers. The voucher will use Singapore's dedicated fund (PBM) model, which essentially encapsulates deposit tokens in smart contracts and defines the conditions for the use of the tokens. The FSC has approved seven local banks to participate as innovative financial services, although the banks' compliance will be constantly reviewed. These banks include Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Nonghyup Bank and Busan Bank. It is worth noting that deposit tokens will be protected by the traditional deposit protection system. So far, the Bank of Korea has not announced details about user recruitment and vouchers. (Ledger Insights)