Bank of Korea: CBDCs Are Fiat Currency Not Virtual Assets

While Russian authorities and officials have frequently poured scorn on bitcoin and digital currencies, going as far as to craft laws aimed at criminally prosecuting adopters and miners, the head of Russia’s largest bank has revealed that he has owned and exchanged bitcoins for fiat currency. Herman Gref, CEO and chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank by assets has, in a public talk, spoken to the benefits of virtual currencies while opining how they will soon permeate into society, as reported by Russian news agency TASS. Speaking at the presentation of a joint....

Central banks of Singapore and France are developing a digital coin interoperability system that will support various global CBDCs. The Financial authorities of both countries are seriously exploring the CBDCs cross-border applications. CBDC is the short form for central bank digital currency. It is a virtual currency that is based on blockchain issued by only […]

South Korea’s central bank has published a new working paper analyzing a dual-currency regime by pitting cryptocurrencies against traditional fiat currencies. Penned by economists and academics from the Bank of Korea and Seoul’s Hongik University, the working paper, titled ‘Crowding out in a Dual Currency Regime? Digital versus Fiat Currency’, [PDF] was published earlier this week. “[W]e examine the impact of a privately issued digital currency and fiat currency using the simplest framework, with which we may derive the most straightforward implications,” reads the introduction of the....

Started by the end of July 2021, the Bank Of Korea central bank digital currency (CBDC) project has been gaining traction. Per a report by the Korea Times, the project will be aided by electronics company Samsung. The company and the financial institution will build the platform that will support the CBDC. In addition to Samsung, the Bank of Korea has brought in other partners from the private sector, such as Ground X, a blockchain-based division from another company called Kakao. The Times cited a source on an executive position to support its claims: Samsung Electronics has recently....

When it comes to getting at very least some recognition, one would think banks of all entities would be the last to join the group. The Bank of Korea, however, might be surprising us. Reports indicate that the South Korean central bank and issuer of the country's won currency may soon recognize bitcoin as a currency as opposed to a hobby, according to BusinessKorea. Despite the progress, the bank is still of the mindset that the digital currency won't do terribly well long-term: "The BOK said on December 3 that it made a report on bitcoins and is pondering a measure to open the virtual....