Korea’s Central Bank Completes First Phase of CBDC Simulation Test Run

The CBDC project has now moved into its second phase where various additional functions including offline payments will be tested

article-image

Bank of Korea building in Seoul. Credit: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • South Korea’s central bank is now in the second phase of testing its CBDC following a successful test which began in December
  • The basic functions of the bank’s CBDC are “operating normally” under the rigors of a cloud testing environment

The Bank of Korea said Monday the first phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) simulation research project, which began in December, had concluded and was now in its second testing phase.

“The basic functions of [the] CBDC … are operating normally,” the central bank said in a statement. The first phase saw the creation of a simulated environment implemented in the cloud where tests were conducted to determine the veracity of the CBDC’s basic functions including manufacturing, issuance and distribution.

The project has now moved into its second phase where various additional functions including offline payments and “personal information protection enhancement technology” will be tested for the possibility of implementation and application, the bank said.

Read also: Fed Opens Debate on CBDC, Takes No Policy Stance

Once the second phase of the project is concluded in June of this year, the bank said it plans to expand CBDC usability experiments and technology verification in cooperation with financial institutions, bringing it one step closer to a live product.

While the experiment is by no means an endorsement that the bank will pursue and introduce a wholesale CBDC into its national economy, it does echo similar tests being conducted by financial institutions worldwide.

Over 40 countries are currently researching either wholesale or retail CBDCs while an additional 16 are in current development. Another 14 are currently in the pilot stage while nine nations, including The Bahamas and Nigeria, have launched a hybrid version.

Meanwhile, in the US, The Bank of America has said a digital dollar issuance would likely hit the world stage sometime around 2025-2030, calling it “inevitable,” according to a report by Bloomberg on Monday.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked Advisory.jpg

Research

ACP-125 represents a strategic opportunity to enhance Avalanche's competitive position in the Layer-1 blockchain ecosystem. Based on our previous ACP-77 analysis paired with an analysis of ACP-125, Avalanche is prioritizing kick-starting growth and network effects in its ecosystem while trading off short-term value accrual.

article-image

Tracing centralized missteps to the industry’s push for transparency and stability

article-image

Institutional adoption “moves slower than we want,” exec says, but could follow “an exponential curve from Q1 onwards”

article-image

FTX is still in bankruptcy proceedings, but the process is set to come to an end fairly soon

article-image

“BIO can be thought of as a Y Combinator for onchain Science,” Binance said in a statement

article-image

In case you missed it, BitGo last week appointed the former president of Silvergate Bank as part of its push into stablecoins

article-image

Plus, TapSwap plans to solve tap-to-earn with an all-new Web3 gaming platform