Kazakhstan, instead of creating its own digital currency is concerned about the development of CBDCs abroad, although the country continues to investigate the possibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Governor Erbolat Dossayev of Kazakhstan’s National Bank announced the completion of a prototype of a digital tenge platform, according to a report by local news agency Kazinform.
According to Dossayev, the central bank is prepared to release preliminary results of digital currency testing and a pilot CBDC project on Wednesday. Local financial companies and international partners were involved in the trial, he said.
Kazakhstan has yet to determine whether or not to establish a digital equivalent of the national currency, despite actively moving forward with CBDC testing. The central bank, according to Dossayev, plans to make such a decision in December 2022.
As many countries throughout the world build their own digital currencies, the National Bank of Kazakhstan has been paying more attention to CBDC developments abroad, according to the governor.
Following local authorities consideration of a national digital currency the previous year, Kazakhstan initiated a public consultation on the prospective CBDC in May 2021.
Kazakhstan’s approach to developing a CBDC is comparable to Russia’s, which plans to conduct the first digital ruble pilot testing in early 2022.
