Samsung Electronics has worked with Samsung SDS on a project that is being pursued by the Bank of Korea. The intention of this project is to build a platform for a central bank on digital currency or CBDC. The entire operation is co-managed by Ground X, which is a blockchain affiliated with Kakao.
“Specifically, the Kakao consortium and Samsung Group’s two tech affiliates will launch a pilot program aimed at checking on money transfers and remittances between countries, issuing and distributing the CBDC, and monitoring how that eventually works in virtual environments,” an executive familiar with the project said.
Samsung has also revealed that the smartphone giant is looking forward to testing the functionality of this new digital currency within and inside its Galaxy smartphones. “Will it be possible to conduct payments via mobile phones using the digital currency with no internet availability, or to send remittances of the CBDC to other mobile phones or to other connected bank accounts, are the two core points that Samsung is looking at,” said an official.
This entire program will be under the technical advisor, a role taken up by Samsung SDS. Escor, another company associated with Samsung SDS, will handle the procedures for the experiments with the CBDC.
However, Bank of Korea’s Governor Lee Ju-yeol is not fully engrossed when it comes to increasing its crypto assets. This cynicism makes sense as not all types of cryptocurrencies are in a position from which they can be valued properly. Nonetheless, the governor is open to the possibility of studying a CBDC to figure out the role it plays in the modern financial systems. Bank of Korea has agreed to conduct simulation programs that will examine the efficacy of the CBDC in two stages. The Bank of Korea plans to use Klaytn, Ground X’s blockchain platform, as the main platform for its CBDC structure.
