A parliamentary audit conducted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea on Monday revealed that the research done by the Bank of Korea on cryptocurrencies such as Ether and Bitcoin was of “poor” quality. According to local publications, the governor of Korea’s Central Bank Lee Joo-yeol addressed lawmakers stating that cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and also promised to conduct further research proceedings on the same.
Lee was quoted as saying, “Is it possible to see virtual money as a currency?” He responded to this self-asked question by stating, “It is difficult to look at the example of the International Settlement Banks (BIS) in terms of money,” as per reports published by Yonhap News. While talking on the aspect of regulating cryptocurrencies, he pointed out that, “Regulation is appropriate for it because it is regarded as a commodity. It is not a regulation at the level of money…It is not a situation for the Bank of Korea to take action at present.” He also added “the possibility that the central bank’s digital money will be issued in the near future is likely to become a means of payment specialized for interbank transactions or central bank transactions.”
Song Young-gil, a member of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee and Democratic Party lawmaker pointed out that the recent audit conducted on central bank of Korea reveals substandard research quality. In comparison to other banks, the Central Bank of Korea lagged behind in the research plethora pertaining to Bitcoin, Ether and similar cryptocurrencies . The bank authorities have been severely criticized for the same by Song. Asiae news quoted him saying, that “there are more than 1,000 companies that can use bitcoin in Korea. However, the data provided [by BOK] shows insufficient numbers.”
Song exclaimed that, “Virtual currency and Blockchains are important research subjects, if you neglect them, you can lose the future market,” and finished off by saying that “The bank should do more research in the future.”
Lee was quick to respond that, “I fully agree with your point of view. We also refer to a lot of virtual currency research conducted in countries like Sweden. The Bank of Korea will put more emphasis on virtual currency research.”
Also Read: South Korea To Tax Bitcoin And May Uplift The Ban On ICO
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