South Korea plans to launch tokenized deposit and wCBDC pilot this year, with 100,000 users expected
100,000 people will participate in a large-scale pilot of tokenized deposits later this year, the Korea Times said, citing sources. The paper said the deposit tokens would be "similar to using vouchers", in line with previously announced plans.
A year ago, the Bank of Korea announced plans to issue a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) to support interbank settlement of bank tokenized deposits. A pilot with up to 100,000 participants will begin in September or October this year. In June, two government entities announced funding for a voucher project being developed by the central bank, where deposit tokens can be used for welfare, culture, education and other services. However, today's report states that the vouchers in the pilot will be used to purchase goods at convenience stores.