Kazakhstan has released the results of a pilot program for its national digital currency, the digital tenge. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) plans to share some of the results with stakeholders in July next year. While the final decision on the launch will be taken in December 2022, and the final results of a comprehensive study will guide the model development. The NBK will set up a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) on distributed LEDGER technology.
Digital currency might be used for cross-border transactions.
The bank also confirmed the possibility of Kazakhstan’s citizens utilizing the digital currency for payment and how it will be programmed. The bank used a series of hypothetical scenarios to determine the possibility of using the digital currency between second-tier banks and external users and the likelihood of using the digital currency for cross-border transactions with the existing regulations. The digital currency will serve as a third form of the national currency in Kazakhstan. The currency will be an additional payment means alongside cash.
The bank was also advised to set up a “Digital Tenge Hub.”
The digital currency can also be for business among individuals and groups as it’ll be backed by the central bank. The results will also reveal the need to expand the digital currency pilot program to involve market and infrastructural participants in several scenarios. The bank was also advised to set up a “Digital Tenge Hub,” which enables contributions from other market players for creating the digital currency. “The NBK of the Republic of Kazakhstan will ensure the development of a final model to decide on the introduction of the [digital tenge] and perform a presentation of interim results of the study and discussion with all stakeholders in July 2022,” according to the report.
