The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) has launched a digital tenge pilot project, according to a report published jointly by the bank and Binance on Feb. 3. The report looked at global approaches to digital asset regulation, the digital asset industry and decentralized finance (DeFi) in Central Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States in particular.
In his introduction to the report, NBK Deputy governor Berik Sholpankupov wrote about the bank’s vision of a “collaboration between Traditional Finance and DeFi” that could increase financial inclusion and support international trade. He added:
“In Kazakhstan, we also started a practical R&D project to explore how our CBDC – Digital Tenge, can bridge the world of crypto with traditional fiat payments infrastructure.”
Sholpankupov’s statement confirmed that the NBK is on time with plans set out in its official roadmap. Kazakhstan announced its digital tenge project in 2020. The project is set to run through the end of 2025. The report also stated:
“A Digital Tenge CDBC initiative […] Is already in a pilot phase…