South Korea to pump $1 billion into blockchain and crypto

The South Korean government will invest more than $1 billion in blockchain and financial technology over the next three years.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government unveiled the ‘Seoul Innovation Growth Fund’ for start-ups yesterday.

The government body said average investment in London blockchain start-ups is $7 million while in Silicon Valley it is $6.5 million. In South Korea, it is only $1.1 million.

Jo In-dong, the head of the economic policy department at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said: “Innovative start-up investments will be the cornerstone of corporate growth that creates innovation in our society.

“We will expand our investment to create a virtuous structure that will stimulate the start-up investment market and create a start-up ecosystem.”

South Koreans have enthusiastically adopted cryptocurrency. A recent study found three out of every 10 workers in Korea had invested in crypto.

Blockchain capital

In December, it was reported that South Korea is testing a new voting system based on blockchain. Officials hoped a blockchain voting system would increase security, transparency, and trust in digital voting.

In January, South Korea’s central bank, the Bank of Korea (BOK), confirmed that it will not be issuing a digital currency in the near future.

The Korea Herald reported there is “no urgent need” for the BOK to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC), despite the likes of Sweden and Tunisia considering implementing their own.

“We have no plans to issue any type of CBDC that is available for all people in the near future.

“We have to work further on benefits and costs of CBDC implementation first,” an unnamed BOK official said.