One of the world’s most advanced projects for central-bank digital currencies (CBDCs) is making the jump from bilateral cross-border tests to ones involving multiple jurisdictions and multiple currencies.
An experiment of using digital currency to settle cross-border transactions between Hong Kong and Thailand is being expanded. Two places mentioned at a conference today include the United Arab Emirates and mainland China.
During a discussion at the Asian Financial Forum, an annual gathering hosted by the Hong Kong government, panelists discussing CBDCs mentioned the UAE will join the Inthanon-LionRock project combining research into cross-border CBDC payments from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank of Thailand.
The original study was done in early 2020, but last year the two central banks began to involve more currencies and central banks, said Benedicte Nolens, head of the Hong Kong innovation hub for the Bank of International Settlements. BIS is involved in the project along with ConsenSys and PwC. She mentioned the UAE in that context.
(The UAE also has a bilateral CBDC project with Saudi Arabia.)
A BIS report will be published in the coming months that looks primarily at digital currencies at the wholesale level in cross-border payments, although BIS is also doing research on their use for trading on overseas stock exchanges.
Read more: https://www.digfingroup.com/hong-kong-cbdc/
