The central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan has rolled out a new stablecoin, KGST, pegged 1:1 to the country’s som currency, President Sadyr Japarov announced on Friday, following a meeting that included Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. Zhao signed an agreement with Kyrgyzstan’s National Investment Agency in April, pledging to cooperate with the government in cryptocurrency and blockchain development in the nation.
Now, following the second meeting of the nation’s National Council for the Development of Virtual Assets and Blockchain Technologies, Kyrgyzstan is rolling out the KGST stablecoin, pegged to the country’s som currency, the government announced.
Japarov also issued other crypto-related decrees following the meeting, instructing the country’s economy ministry to improve the legislative framework for digital assets, calling on the council to submit proposals for a state cryptocurrency reserve within two months, and telling the National Bank to begin pilot testing of the digital som, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) apparently separate from the KGST stablecoin.
The pilot launch of the digital som will occur in three stages, according to a separate announcement: first, a pilot launch connecting the National Bank with commercial banks and allowing transfers, then connecting the Central Treasury to allow for social and government payments, then, finally, a test of offline or low-connectivity payments. “After successfully piloting all three phases, the platform will be rolled out nationally and scaled,” the National Bank said. The Bank developed the pilot CBDC in partnership with crypto firm Build block TECH.
