Citizens will receive the digital currency when they use public services or pay taxes.

The capital of South Korea, Seoul, is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency by November this year. The purpose is to advance in its objective of becoming a smart city and allow its citizens to actively participate in the governance of the city.

As it was reported by local media, the name of the digital currency would be S-Coin and its main objective will be to facilitate cooperation between citizens and obtain important information for city governance.

When paying taxes or complying with other citizen duties, city inhabitants will receive this new cryptocurrency, which they can also obtain when using public services or participating in public surveys, for example.

One of the characteristics of this new digital currency is that the Government will program this asset to decide and establish in detail how much can be spent, as well as the amounts and the frequency to make use of S-Coin. In this way, the Government expects this cryptocurrency to be a positive influence on the actions of these South Korean citizens and also on the development of an intelligent city.

Among the examples or cases of use of this digital currency, local media explain that parents could reward their children by giving them some kind of “awards” with the asset, so that children can exchange the cryptocurrency for candy in specific stores allowed for that transaction.

Towards an “Industrial Revolution”

It is not the first time that this country decides to launch a local cryptocurrency. Recently, Busan, the second most populous city in South Korea after Seoul, decided to launch its own cryptocurrency with the aim of improving its economy and becoming a leading space in the development and adoption of blockchain technology.

In this sense, the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-In, declared, at the end of July, that using blockchain technology in the territory is a matter of “survival”, given that the world is on its way to a fourth industrial revolution.

“While regulatory innovation in the era of industrialization was a choice, it is now a matter of survival as we are experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, characterized by users in all industries and fields”, he said.

Among other benefits of using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and starting to use their own cryptocurrencies, President Moon added that the creation of blockchain-real-use-cases seeks to protect personal data at all times, and contributes to the formation of a greater presence international for South Korea, whilst blockchain applications in finance will contribute greatly to the revitalization of the country’s economy.

In other regions of the world, such as in the United States, there are cities that have decided to create their own cryptocurrencies, with the aim to facilitate all types of transactions. Iceland (Auroracoin), Scotland (ScotCoin), Argentina (BitARS), France (Francs) and Peru (Inkacoin) are some of the territories that also decided to have their own cryptocurrencies, although having a more national reach.

By María Rodríguez

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