The South Korean Central Bank, the Bank of Korea (BOK), says it is “not considering” creating a national strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Per Dong-A Ilbo, the BOK has finally broken its silence on the matter of “Bitcoin (BTC) stockpiling.” The bank said it “must be cautious” about including Bitcoin in its “foreign exchange reserves.”
South Korean Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: BOK Says No?
The bank was speaking on March 16 in response to a written inquiry from the lawmaker Cha Kyu-geun.
Cha is a member of the Rebuilding Korea Party (aka the Cho Kuk Innovation Party). He also sits on the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee.
“We have not discussed or reviewed the inclusion of Bitcoin in our foreign exchange reserves. If the virtual asset market becomes unstable, we are concerned that transaction costs will increase quickly for those trying to convert Bitcoin to fiat.”
Bank of KoreaThe BOK added that BTC does not currently meet IMF foreign exchange reserve calculation standards.
It claimed that foreign exchange reserves “should be available for immediate use, whenever they are needed.”
The former headquarters of the Bank of Korea in downtown Seoul, South Korea. (Source: ::::=UT=:::: [CC BY-SA 3.0])And the BOK sad that while key political figures in some countries “such as the Czech Republic and Brazil” have “expressed positive opinions” about creating national strategic Bitcoin reserves, governments elsewhere are less keen.
The South Korean central bank noted that “the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank, and the Japanese government have all expressed negative opinions” about the idea of stockpiling BTC.
Politicians Eager to Court Voters With Crypto Pledges
The question of whether Seoul should launch a South Korean strategic Bitcoin reserve has been hotly debated in recent weeks.
The Democratic Party (DP)’s policy unit floated the idea of adding Bitcoin to the foreign exchange reserve portfolio earlier this month.
South Koreans could go to the polls later this year to choose a new President, should the impeachment of incumbent Yoon Seok-yul prove successful.
Sensing the need to court younger voters in the event of a 2025 election, the DP and leading figures from the rival People Power Party have already begun making pro-crypto policy statements in recent weeks.
The Rebuilding Korea Party, meanwhile, has 12 seats in the National Assembly. The Assembly is still dominated by the DP, which holds 170 seats.
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