Bank of Korea Concludes First Phase of CBDC Test

South Korea’s central bank has concluded the first phase of its test of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), CoinDesk reported Monday (Jan. 24).

The Bank of Korea’s initial test looked at the basic functions of the currency, using a simulation environment to study its manufacture, issuing and distribution, and determining that the coin “works normally,” according to the report

See also: South Korea Looks for Tech Partner to Launch Digital Won

Now, the bank — which announced plans for its test last year — will look at implementing additional functions, like offline payments and personal protection enhancement, the report stated. But the bank cautioned that further experiments will be necessary to see whether a CBDC will be as effective outside the simulation.

Once the second phase of the study wraps up in June, the Bank of Korea will evaluate the project and continue holding usability experiments with the help of financial institutions (FIs), according to the report.

The report comes one week after Switzerland’s central bank approved numerous transactions involving CBDC at five commercial banks, including Citi, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs.

Read more: The Swiss National Bank Completes Wholesale CBDC Transactions With Five Commercial Banks

The past few weeks have also seen reports that Israel is continuing to test a digital shekel, and that China’s digital yuan has captured $8.3 billion in payments over the past six months.

Last week also saw the release of a long-awaited report by the U.S. Federal Reserve on CBDCs, although that report offered no clear perspective on where the bank stands on the issue.

See more: Fed White Paper Examines Creating Digital Dollar

The Fed said in its report that it doesn’t want to take a position “without clear support from the executive branch and from Congress, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law.”