South Korean Province to Issue Its Own Local Cryptocurrency

Geyongsangbuk-do (also known as Geyongbuk), a province on the eastern coast of South Korea, has announced efforts to replace its local currencies with a state-issued cryptocurrency. The plans were reported by local news source Joongang Ilbo.

The province is also planning to create an exchange where Geyongbuk coins can be bought and sold. Participating merchants will then be able to accept the cryptocurrencies using QR codes.

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The local currencies that the province is attempting to replaced are city-issued gift certificates that are currently produced by nine municipalities. The gift certificates were initially developed as part of an effort to revitalize local economies, and can be used in selected locations within the province. Pohang city has issued the most of these gift certificates–Kyongbuk daily newspaper reported that the city had sold $90 million worth of the gift certificates since January of 2017.