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LINE In Discussions With Central Banks Of Asia Regarding CBDC Projects

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LINE, the Japan-based messaging giant, had a spokesperson go to the press to announce that it is currently in discussions with central banks of Asia. These discussions pertain to potentially partnering up when it comes to digital currency projects.

Planning On Serving As The Bas

The spokesperson explained that the aim for LINE in these discussions is to allow for a blockchain platform that is primed and ready for the introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) based within the LINE Blockchain. LINE had already launched its blockchain platform for respective developers back in August of this year, as well.

As it stands now, it’s not quite clear which Asian central banks LINE is in discussions with. Even so, IT Chosun, a Korean news outlet, has speculated that it would work with central banks that already focus on developing digital currencies for the use of micropayments.

LINE Plans Global Expansion

IT Chosun explained that the spokesperson elaborated on the plan, in particular. According to the spokesperson, LINE is planning to support the development of customized CBDCs, doing so in such a format to reflect each central bank’s requirements for it in their respective countries.

All the while, the spokesperson stated that these banks would be capable of using LINE’s blockchain platform for its stability and scalability. The spokesperson stated that LINE is making plans for global expansion, with the first big push being in Asia.

One such example would be the Bank of Korea, which is planning to trial a CBDC in order to enact micropayments. The central bank also issued out a recent report, taking note that countries like the Bahamas, Uruguay, as well as Cambodia are all developing their respective forms of CBDCs dedicated to micropayments. This comes in a bid to reduce the costs of money management, overall.

The Crypto Arms Race

Even more global corporations are throwing their hat in the ring. Just a month prior, Mastercard, the global payments giant, had launched a “Virtual and Custom” testing platform. This platform is dedicated to allowing central banks to inspect and evaluate their respective digital currency systems, as well.

It seems that the entire world, even multinational corporations, are battling it out for supremacy within the new crypto tech race. Nothing remains clear, but only China and the Bahamas are in a position to issue out their CBDCs on a large scale, China being the global superpower in the lead at this point.

It should be noted, however, that the title of the first state-owned cryptocurrency falls on the Petro, the dubious stablecoin from Venezuela.

LINE In Discussions With Central Banks Of Asia Regarding CBDC Projects

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CBDCs: Bank of Korea Is Reportedly Planning to Issue and Circulate a Central Bank Digital Currency in 2021

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The Bank of Korea (BOK), the reserve bank of the Republic of Korea and issuer of South Korean won, is reportedly planning to issue and circulate a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by next year.

As first reported by the Korean Times, the BOK will be assessing whether its CBDC may be successfully or effectively used by local businesses and individuals for everyday transactions. The digital currency testing is being conducted after two years of ongoing research and development (R&D) performed by the BOK.

The South Korean reserve bank stated that the virtual currency experiment aims to determine whether the new form of digital payments can effectively replace cash or more traditional forms of settling transactions. The BOK’s virtual currency research team is planning to deploy the servers needed to conduct testing.

A BOK representative confirmed:

“We will create a virtual environment by using blockchain technology and test whether our CBDC can be used for real-world transactions. The CBDC will be issued and circulated in the virtual world and we are going to test a number of transaction scenarios under a variety of circumstances.”

The representative added:

“For now, the BOK does not have any plans to partner with any private companies over the test, and this will be carried out on our own.”

The Korean reserve bank noted that it’s currently in the analysis stage of the initiative. The institution explained that it’s CBDC pilot is part of a three-step process (with analysis being the second stage). The virtual issuance and circulation of the bank’s digital currency will be part of the final phase that’s planned to begin at some point in 2021.

The BOK had finalized the first-phase review of the initiative in July 2020. The bank is now focused on developing a CBDC system architecture with the help of a consulting partner firm.

China appears to have taken the lead when it comes to developing a CBDC. The country, which is home to around 1.5 billion people and has the world’s second-largest economy, recently revealed that its Digital Currencey Electronic Payment (DCEP) system (the pilot version) has already processed hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions with many consumers creating new wallets or accounts.

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