Central Bank of Kazakhstan CBDC Rollout

The Central Bank of Kazakhstan has recommended rolling out its in-house CBDC in 2023. The expansion will be done in phases with the goal of introducing it into commercial operations by the end of 2025.

Kazakhstan, the world’s third-biggest Bitcoin mining hub, is now all set to launch its Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC, which is a digital tenge. The central bank revealed plans for the launch after the second testing phase was completed.

Central Bank reveals initial studies on the CBDC

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of Binance, also revealed that Kazakhstan's CBDC will be integrated with BNB Chain, the blockchain built by the crypto exchange. Kazakhstan's primary motive for conducting studies and launching its CBDC is to improve financial inclusion in the country, promote competition, encourage innovation in the payment industry, and increase the nation's overall global competitiveness.

The initial studies conducted by Kazakhstan's central bank focused mainly on programmability and offline payment methods. It was then recommended that market participants and infrastructure players be included in different scenarios and clarified language be used by the country's regulators. The latest research paper on the matter reveals that the CBDC is recommended to roll out in phases due to the potential for infrastructure preparation, technological improvements, the development of an operating model, and a regulatory framework.

As Russian citizens continue to pour into neighbouring countries due to the war, Kazakhstan has announced its plans to legalise mechanisms for converting crypto into cash.

During the international forum Digital Bridge 2022, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President, stated that the country is ready to go further with the crypto-to-cash mechanism and even give it full legal recognition, given that the financial instrument continues to show its relevancy and security.

In addition, the neighbouring country, Georgia, also has plans to introduce new crypto regulations to become a global crypto hub.