“Developed countries do not need state cryptocurrencies”

The Central Bank of South Korea has once again expressed its distrust of the concept of issuing state cryptocurrencies, according to comments made by an official of the Central Bank.

According to CoinDesk Korea report and notes
At a payment conference in Seoul, the director of financial settlements at the Central Bank of South Korea, Hong Kyung-sik, said that in the country, as in most advanced economies, there is no need to issue government cryptocurrencies.

“Korea already has a developed payment and settlement infrastructure. In addition, the degree of openness of this system is high at the international level, ”said Hong, according to comments posted on the Central Bank’s website.

Money can be moved quickly, cheaply and safely in the country using application-based solutions and bank transfers, and purchases can be paid with credit cards, Hong added. Korea is developing open banking and software interfaces (APIs) that provide connectivity with and between financial institutions.

“The likelihood that the release of state cryptocurrencies will soon become a reality in large countries is still small,” Hong said.

However, a representative of the Central Bank acknowledged that state cryptocurrencies may make sense in developed countries to achieve several very specific goals, such as deploying systems created in Scandinavia in order to avoid monopolization and maintain the stability of the corresponding infrastructure.

On the other hand, for developing countries with poor infrastructure, government cryptocurrencies can be useful to improve access to financial services and reduce the costs associated with processing cash. In China, the central bank’s digital currency can support monetary policy and promote the internationalization of the renminbi, Hong added.

He said that the Central Bank of South Korea will continue to study blockchain-related technologies and will monitor the development of state-owned cryptocurrencies on a global scale, but added that the institution will carefully make new decisions.

“The Bank of Korea should promote and support innovations in the field of payments and settlements. Every effort must be made to strike a balance between efficiency and safety, ”he concluded.

This is not the first time that the Central Bank of South Korea has expressed its attitude to state cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, the Bank of Korea announced that it would not issue its own cryptocurrency, and in February warned
about the risks of state cryptocurrencies. In addition, in March, the Central Bank of South Korea included
The results of the study on digital currencies issued by the Central Bank in its annual report on settlement of payments for 2018.