National Bank of Kazakhstan Announces Successful Completion Of CBDC Pilot

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has declared the successful completion of the 2nd stage of testing of the platform for its CBDC. The results of the pilots and the study on the requirement for the new version of the national fiat, the tenge, have been presented in a whitepaper published by the regulator.

The 1st phase of the CBDC trial was carried out between the months of July and December, last year, when a prototype was developed to examine the feasibility of the CBDC concept, mentioned in an announcement, quoted by RBC Crypto. During the 2nd stage, from the month of January to December, this year, the platform was fine-tuned and pilots began with financial market players and users.

As per the bank, the research has confirmed that the digital tenge is a feasible project. Once introduced, the central bank digital currency can expand the availability of financial services, including through a feature permitting offline transactions as well as the offering of new products and services. A survey among consumers suggested the majority would use the digital currency.

The 3rd phase of implementation of the digital national currency will start in the month of January and continue throughout 2023. Next year, developers plan to instigate a solution for commercial use. During the 4th stage, which is scheduled to end in the month of December 2025, the National Bank of Kazakhstan will invite more participants and launch additional services.