Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong reports that 16% of Korean adults hold a cryptocurrency account
Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong has highlighted concerns about the high percentage of Korean adults with cryptocurrency accounts.
Speaking at the “Country-specific Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Implementation Experience and Future Plans” high-level panel discussion at the BIS Innovation Summit Program, hosted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Governor Lee emphasized that “One of my problems is that 16% of adults in Korea have a cryptocurrency account.”
Governor Lee acknowledged that Korea is one of the countries where crypto trading is well developed and digitization has been carried out at a high level. He noted that opinions on cryptocurrencies vary, with some people believing that crypto assets are sheer hoaxes and should be banned outright, while younger generations believe that CBDCs could be a good target for developing cryptography and other digital technologies.
Compared to other countries, Governor Lee explained that stakeholders such as banks, big tech companies, and individuals in Korea are more positive about the introduction of CBDC. He stated that in Korea, large corporations are already investing in crypto assets, with manufacturers interested in Samsung Electronics already having blockchain wallets in their smartphones.
President Lee also shared that they plan to launch an NFT trading platform on smart TVs to enable people to view NFT screens on the screen. However, he acknowledged that if big tech companies participate in CBDC, cross-border cooperation beyond the traditional regulatory system will be required to address issues of privacy protection.
The discussion was attended by Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, French Central Bank Governor François Villeroy de Galhau, and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) President Ravi Menon.
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