Kazakhstan has officially launched the central bank digital currency, the digital tenge, and the country’s chairman of the National Payment Corporation has made the first transaction with the CBDC.
Binur Zhalenov, chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Payment Corporation (NPC), has conducted the initial transaction utilizing the central bank digital currency (CBDC).
According to the local news source Kapital.kz, he used a debit card associated with the CBDC account while presenting his remarks at the XI Congress of Finance in Almaty on November 15.
Presenting the “digital tenge” for sale on the Kazakhstani retail market for the first time, Zhalenov assured that the “massive platform’s development” will occur in 2024. Kazakhstan, Visa, Mastercard, and local institutions, according to the official, worked in tandem to incorporate the CBDC into plastic cards:
“It lets you pay with a digital tenge from anywhere in the world, using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and other gadgets.”
Zhalenov has further emphasized the digital tenge’s “programmable” capability, which may apply to innovative financial services, digital asset transactions, and smart contracts.
He stated that the CBDC will concentrate on offline payments the following year and that the NPC anticipates implementing the digital tenge for international trade by 2025.
Digital tenge development commenced in February 2023, with an initial launch target established for 2025. In September, the NPC was officially formed to spearhead the development and execution of the CBDC.
Concurrent with the rapid implementation of CBDC, Kazakh authorities have increased their vigilance over the cryptocurrency market.
Local media reported in September that access to Coinbase, Kraken, and other major international cryptocurrency exchanges was problematic for those needing a local license.
In October, local cryptocurrency miners penned an open letter to the president of the Republic, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, requesting a reduction in the recently implemented tax rates on their operations.
