Despite the fact that the cryptocurrency space faces numerous barriers in South Korea, blockchain technology seems to be in the top of government interests.
South Korea has announced it will allocate more than one trillion won – nearly $ 880 million to explore blockchain technology, AI, and sharing economy.
As written in the official press release published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, South Korea is set to invest around $ 4.4 billion in the country’s “Growth Through Innovation” program. A number of eight projects will receive funding, aimed to support the establishment of a “platform economy” consisting of a digital network dedicated to records and transactions analytics as well as the creation of a hydrogen fuel cell supply system.
The Asian country intends to invest overall between 9 and 10 trillion won in this strategic program, understanding the major influence it could have on other areas of development.
Blockchain technology as a solution to boost the sharing economy
The press release also points out the impact of blockchain technology and its role in streamlining the sharing economy:
“The government will focus on promoting big data and AI, developing blockchain technology to ensure data management security and boosting the sharing economy.”
Fields including exploration of big data, AI, and blockchain technology will receive a maximum of 1 trillion won in 2019, which has doubled compared to 2018.
South Korea takes seriously the blockchain and crypto sectors. In addition to the major investments to be registered, the country’s businesses have recently released several research centers aimed at analyzing the impact of cryptocurrencies on the country’s economic system.
Back in July, the Financial Innovation Bureau (FIB) was established as a member of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) whose role is to monitor the crypto sector, large data, and fintech operations.