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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.

Seoul skyline
Seoul skyline

Shinhan Bank has built a pilot platform for a potential South Korean central bank digital currency (CBDC) with assistance from LG CNS.

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  • 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.

See also: Bank of Korea Chief on CBDC: Better Right Than Fast

Jamie Crawley

Jamie has been part of CoinDesk's news team since February 2021, focusing on breaking news, Bitcoin tech and protocols and crypto VC. He holds BTC, ETH and DOGE.

Jamie Crawley