South Korean Province to Issue its Own Local Cryptocurrency

Geyongsangbuk-do (also known as Geyongbuk), a province on the eastern coast of South Korea, has announced efforts to replace its local currencies with a state-issued cryptocurrency. The plans were reported by local news source Joongang Ilbo.

The province is also planning to create an exchange where Geyongbuk coins can be bought and sold. Participating merchants will then be able to accept the Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term using QR codes.

The local currencies that the province is attempting to replace are city-issued gift certificates that are currently produced by nine municipalities. The gift certificates were initially developed as part of an effort to revitalize local economies, and can be used in selected locations within the province. Pohang city has issued the most of these gift certificates -- daily newspaper Kyongbuk reported that the city had sold $90 million worth of the gift certificates since January of 2017.

”Still Many Issues to Be Resolved”

Of course, “there are still many issues to be resolved,” said Chung Sung-hyun, the head of the province’s Science and Technology Policy Department. Merchants would need to be educated about how the coins would work, and the provincial government would need to issue the coins in the first place.

Still, efforts are underway. A 10-person benchmarking team from the province recently visited Zug, Switzerland, where they met with a number of local businesses and officials. Zug is home to a number of high-profile crypto firms, and has developed its local laws to be crypto-friendly.

The South Korean Crypto Industry Moves Forward

One official on the team said that the meetings had inspired additional possible use cases for Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term in Gyeongbuk. “I think we can utilize the experience gained through benchmarking by making the identity cards for 5,000 Gyeongbuk provincial government employees like Zug as blockchain-based digital ID cards.”

The cryptocurrency industry in South Korea remains fairly healthy in spite of rumoured exchange bans earlier this year and a multi-million dollar hack of the Bithumb exchange in June. The South Korean government legalized Bitcoin as a remittance payment in June, a move that spurred industry growth within the country. CoinTelegraph reported that South Korean exchanges processed 14 percent of global Bitcoin trades in July.