South Korea’s National Pension Service Eyes Blockchain for $890B Fund's Transactions

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), which manages 1,224 trillion won ($836 billion) in assets, plans to look at how a blockchain could be used in its fund transaction systems.

The organization is weighing a shift to blockchain technology to boost transparency and security in managing its deposits, withdrawals and investments, according to Seoul Economic Daily, which cited industry sources.

The NPS plans to begin a preliminary disclosure process, inviting blockchain experts and companies to weigh in before formally launching the initiative, the news outlet said.

This feedback phase, standard for major public projects in Korea, will inform a research study into the feasibility of integrating blockchain into the pension fund’s accounting system. The NPS is specifically looking at how blockchain’s shared ledger can prevent tampering of fund records, a crucial task for the institution to ensure the retirement security of millions of people.

The NPS has previously used a blockchain to track overseas pension recipients. While it isn’t considering investing directly in bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies, it has indirect exposure to the sector after investing in both Strategy and Coinbase shares.

The initiative comes shortly after South Korea’s 7-Eleven stores started accepting the Bank of Korea’s central bank digital currency as part of a major trial.

Disclaimer: Information gathered for this article was translated with the use of artificial intelligence.