South Korea’s largest technology and telecommunications giant is applying for the right to test the digital currency CBDC

The Bank of Korea (BOK), South Korea’s central bank, will be testing its prototype digital KRW from August as the country accelerates the central bank number (CBDC) for adopting digital currencies. And it looks like three of Korea’s largest tech and telecommunications giants are bidding for pilot rights for this CBDC digital currency.

South Korea’s largest telecommunications and technology giants are applying for rights to pilot the digital currency CBDC

According to KBS and Chosun, the CBDC pilot bid process for digital currencies has become a “triple battle” between the search engine and the operator of the Naver chat application, the chat application service, the banking and e-commerce company Kakao and the Telecommunications heavyweight SK developed.

Both Naver, the country’s largest search engine and founder of the chat app Line (the dominant platform in Japan), and the local chat app giant Kakao, were both eligible for participation. The LG Group also hopes to be able to place bids.

The media company claims that a consortium consisting of Naver’s financial arm Naver Financial and the blockchain company Unchain was formed to express their interest in participating in the project, with a bidding process set to begin in the next few weeks.

Kakao Kakao Pay’s electronic payments arm and its blockchain subsidiary Ground X are also likely to make a joint bid, as is a consortium that includes Shinhan Bank and LG CNS, an IT service provider operated by LG. Other likely bidders are Shinhan’s rival KEB Hana Bank and the Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Research Center at POSCO-operated POSTECH University of Technology in Pohang.

BOK has now completed the offer, with consortia or individual tenders under the leadership of the cocoa subsidiary Ground X, the Naver subsidiary Line Plus and the SK subsidiary SK C&C vying for approval from BOK.

Chosun added that LG CNS, the IT service provider for electronics giant LG, is part of the Line Plus group.

IT services and Samsung’s blockchain subsidiary Samsung SDS have reportedly suspended the bidding process.

Both Kakao and LG have created Won-compatible digital platforms and appear interested in starting a digital currency business.

Central Bank of Korea test plan for digital coins

The BOK will announce the decision to accept the bids before the end of the month. The winning company or company will conduct a 10-month test phase from August.

BOK would like operators to test their prototype central bank digital currency (CBDC) in areas such as cross-border transfers, buying “digital assets” and offline payments, as well as bank deposits and e-commerce payments.

According to BOK, the test process is divided into two phases. The first part will test the functionality of the digital KRW prototype, while the second part addresses privacy-related issues and other potential use cases.

TV Chosun reports that BOK’s first pilot project will focus on e-wallet management issues as well as exchanges, deposits, transfers and payments.

Meanwhile, the second phase of the pilot will focus on “comprehensive functions such as cross-border transfers” and “extension” of data-related protocols with a focus on “protection of personal data”.

The pilot project ends in June 2022 and has a budget of up to $ 4.3 million

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