A major local online shopping mall and one of South Korea's biggest currency exchange are joining forces to develop a system that would allow purchases using crypto-currency.
Although not an entirely new concept..., it is still foreign to many in the nation.
Lee Jeong-yeon provides a closer look.
A major project is underway in South Korea for virtual currency.
One of the country's biggest online shopping malls, Wemakeprice, and the largest local crypto exchange, Bithumb, are working on a system that'll see virtual currencies used on a large scale... for their original purpose -- namely, buying things.

Currently, Bithumb and Wemakeprice are waiting on government regulations on virtual currency to be finalized before launching the service. If this were to become possible, it would mean that 12 types of virtual currency, including Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum, could be used to make purchases online.

It's not the first time in Korea that a vendor has accepted virtual currency, but it is the first time that a major online retailer has done so.
Crypto prices are notorious for their volatility, so transactions will reflect the coins' value in real time.
But not everyone's convinced.

"I think for now the prices of cryptocurrency fluctuate too much, so I would think twice before using it as money. But it would be convenient if I could."

"Virtual currency isn't yet backed by by the government, so I think there's a risk. I'm not sure, but I feel like it's too soon to be used as currency."

In the United States, Bitcoin is already accepted by major online platforms such as Overstock, Expedia, and Microsoft. Japanese electronics store BicCamera has also started accepting it at their brick-and-mortar stores.

So there's evidence that cryptos are gaining a foothold, but experts see significant downsides.

"The current crop doesn't really have a central authority trying to stabilize the prices, so I think they're working against themselves in trying to make this a currency. The value is just too volatile."

Still, the expert says it might be worth a try.

"It will be an interesting experiment. I think a lot of people will look at this as perhaps trying to figure out what the future path of the cryptocurrency will be, whether it will be able to fulfill its original intention as a currency or whether it will just be a niche asset like gold."

He also speculates that it could be years before the value of cryptos is stable enough for it to become a mainstream form of currency.

Lee Jeong-yeon, Arirang News