Bank of Thailand to begin retail CBDC testing

In the second quarter of 2022, the Bank of Thailand will launch testing of a retail CBDC for retail transactions. It will be fully rolled out over the next 3-5 years.

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) published a document to provide residents with more information about the digital currency. The regulator invites anyone who reads it to submit their feedback by June 15.

“Retail CBDC is a digital form of money comparable to physical banknotes, which can be used in financial transactions both online and offline,” the BoT clarified.

The central bank explained that creating a CBDC would help prevent the spread of private stablecoins, which pose risks to the country’s monetary sovereignty and financial stability.

In March 2021, the BoT announced the adoption of regulatory rules for “stablecoins”. The regulator took this step after issuing an investor warning about the risks associated with a baht-denominated stablecoin issued by the Israeli project Terra.

In the summer of 2018, the BoT launched Project Inthanon — an initiative aimed at creating its own digital currency.

Earlier the BoT said that the CBDC would be built on Ethereum, ConsenSys will be the partner.

Earlier in February 2021, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Bank of Thailand announced the joining of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the Central Bank of the UAE to the second phase of the project “MBridge for CBDCs”.