The digital asset platform Fireblocks has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NongHyup Bank, a major bank in South Korea that specializes in providing commercial credit and banking services to the agricultural industry. They expect to launch a prototype for tax refunds.
Innovation through tax Tokenization
Fireblocks and NongHyup Bank will use the Fireblocks Tokenization Tool in a pilot project to refund value-added tax (VAT) and goods and services tax (GST) when shopping at retail stores. Michael Shaulov, co-founder and CEO of Fireblocks, shared with TinTucBitcoin that they are working to increase transparency and security. He said:
"Through Tokenization, we can assign unique digital identities to assets, allowing us to track them in real-time throughout their entire lifecycle — from issuance to settlement — without the risk of manual errors or fraud."
"This not only reduces operational costs but also ensures an immutable record, strengthening the trust between the bank and its customers," he added.
VAT is levied at a fixed rate of 10% in South Korea. Some products, such as medical supplies and unprocessed food, are exempt from VAT, and tourists are also exempt from all purchases, except the smallest ones. VAT refund fees can range from 3% to 6% of the product's value.
NongHyup Bank and Fireblocks will also explore other collaboration opportunities. The bank's chairman, Lee Seok-yong, stated that "This MoU is an important step for NH Bank as we strive to bring innovative services, applying blockchain technology, to our customers." The bank has over 10 million customers.
Major banks in South Korea have shown interest in blockchain and digital assets in recent years.
Fireblocks expands beyond custody
Fireblocks provides a custody solution and supports blockchain projects to securely move, store, and issue digital assets. The platform serves wallets, custodians, and trading partners on a single platform and has safely transferred over $6 trillion in digital assets.
Source: Fireblocks
The company is expanding in new directions. For example, in June, they began offering derivative products and trading for institutional and retail investors through a partnership with Coinbase International. In July, they launched a Web3 toolkit for startups.
