The company has been working on the integration of crypto payments into its devices for several years.
South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics will help local authorities conduct a pilot test of the central bank's digital currency (CBDC). This is reported by The Korea Times.
As part of the pilot, local authorities plan to issue a CBDC and distribute a financial instrument. After that, the participants of the initiative will engage in monitoring, the results of which will help them understand the effectiveness of the asset. The work is formally divided into two stages:
In the period from August to December 2021, the developers plan to determine the technical details for the national CBDC system.
From January to June 2022, representatives of the initiative will optimize transactions with the digital version of the won.
According to media reports, Samsung, among other things, will take part in testing translations based on the South Korean CBDC. The electronics manufacturer uses smartphones of the Galaxy line in its work. It is noteworthy that the company has been working on the integration of crypto payments into its devices for several years.
As part of the testing, representatives of the initiative, among other things, intend to find out whether it is possible to organize CBDC transfers without an Internet connection.
Regulators in some countries have already applied similar technologies when launching a digital analogue of the national currency. For example, it is possible to conduct operations with the CBDC of the Bahamas – the sand dollar-even without access to electricity and cellular communications. This approach makes the system autonomous.
A similar approach was applied by the Venezuelan authorities when developing version 2.0 of the national digital currency. Together with the launch of the financial instrument, local regulators plan to provide users with tools for transferring CBDC via SMS messages. This approach allows you to do without the Internet.
South Korea's Path to CBDC
In June 2020, information appeared on the network that local authorities were engaged in the formation of a regulatory framework for the launch of a digital analogue of the national currency. During the same period, the regulators of South Korea decided on a work plan and its time frame.
In September 2020, the local authorities officially announced the search for a partner for the development of CBDC. At the end of April 2021, information appeared on the network that Ethereum developers from ConsenSys will help the country's regulators in working on the project.
The organization has entered into partnership agreements with the South Korean Internet giant Kakao, under which the parties agreed to create a private version of the Klaytn blockchain platform for testing the digital won. Kakao Bank is also participating in the government's pilot project to launch CBDC.
At the same time, the South Korean authorities are busy regulating the digital asset market in the country. For example, by the end of September 2021, all local crypto exchanges, according to the new rules, must be registered. Also, South Korean regulators are busy forming taxation norms for participants in the crypto industry.
The volume of bitcoin purchases for the South Korean won. Source: LocalBitcoins
Recently, Bank of America analysts came to the conclusion that national digital currencies are more effective than cash.