Bank of Korea To Create Virtual Asset Team

South Korea’s central bank will reportedly launch a virtual asset committee to monitor the crypto market and has refocused and renamed its central bank digital currency (CBDC) team to actively explore digital currency.

A Bank of Korea official said its Virtual Asset Team will also be responsible for responding to “discussions related to stablecoins and virtual assets,” and “cooperative work with the government” during the legislative process, Yonhap News reported on Tuesday.

Banks in South Korea mulling stablecoins pegged to the country’s currency, the won, and proposed stablecoin legislation being introduced by lawmakers was reportedly the primary driver behind the new team’s creation.

Crypto is popular among South Koreans, and last month the country further embraced the sector by electing Lee Jae Myung as president after he ran on a pro-crypto platform that included allowing stablecoins and crypto exchange-traded funds.

CBDC research team renamed 

The central bank’s Digital Currency Research Team, which is researching CBDC-related projects, was renamed to the “Digital Currency Team.”

A BOK official said the name change was to highlight that the team is a practical business department actively exploring digital currency initiatives, rather than just focusing on theoretical research. 

Two other teams have also been renamed, now taking up the mantle of the Digital Currency Technology Team, responsible for digital currency-related research and investigation, and the Digital Currency Infrastructure Team, tasked with developing a digital voucher management platform based on deposit tokens and building a platform for testing. 

CBDC test postponed, but could return soon  

The Bank of Korea postponed its CBDC test on June 29, as the country’s government aired support for local currency stablecoins and banks voiced concerns over the cost of participating.