South Korean Central Bank: Build Legal Boundary Between CBDCs & Crypto
The South Korean central bank – the Bank of Korea (BOK) – wants Seoul to draw a line between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and cryptoassets, and hopes the government will make an eleventh-hour adjustment to a key crypto law that promulgates next month. The BOK made its recommendation in a new report that comprises input from experts from a range of different sectors and examined the legality of a CBDC issuance under existing legal frameworks. Leading legal academics from Seoul National University and Hanyang University took part in the project. And the reports authors, per ZDNet Korea, concluded that the most important matter that the BOK should consider should it issue a CBDC was to ensure that “as a legal currency, [a CBDC] must have the same status as” banknotes and coins “in terms of issuance and legal weight.” The authors added that the terms of the new law do not seek to make a distinction between crypto and CBDCs. They urged lawmakers to set out a legal distinction before the regulation comes into force by adding new CBDC clauses – even though the nation is still a long way off digital won issuance. The authors wrote, “Under current legislation, virtual assets issued by institutions