Digital Tenge Project – Kazakhstan’s Roadmap to CBDC Implementation
In 2021, the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan implemented the Digital Tenge Pilot Project in close cooperation with R3 and other financial market participants, the expert community, and international partners. Development of the Digital Tenge started in February 2023, with an initial launch deadline set for 2025. In November 2023, Kazakhstan’s National Payment Corporation (NPC) chairman made the first transaction with the country’s new Digital Tenge, powered by Corda and in collaboration with Visa and Mastercard, as well as local banks, to integrate the CBDC into plastic cards.
The programmable potential of the digital tenge could be used in smart contracts, innovative financial services and digital asset transactions. In 2024, the CBDC development will focus on offline payments, and by 2025, the NPC expects to adopt the digital tenge in cross-border trade.
