Regulation
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The Central Bank of Thailand is moving into the second phase of sovereign digital currency (CBDC) testing. In the first half of 2023, a selected 10,000 users, as well as Siam Commercial Bank and Ayutthaya Bank, will use CBDC for daily settlements, cash withdrawals and cryptocurrency conversions.
The regulator allowed the work of selected banks and testers in the legal sandbox mode in order to check the operation of regulations in real time and determine the need to refine laws.
Despite the actual application of CBDC, according to the Central Bank of Thailand, it will take about five years for the mass adoption of the digital Thai baht. During this period, the mBridge cryptocurrency wholesale exchange project will continue to develop, the first stage of which was completed in September of this year.
The created platform should ensure the integration of the digital baht into payments at the international level. The mBridge project was created as an “Asian hub” with the support of the World Bank (BIS) with the participation of the Central Banks of the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Hong Kong and China.
As a result of wholesale exchanges, from August 15 to September 23, 156 transactions were made, worth $22 million. The mBridge system processed cross-border payments at a speed of 3-5 seconds, including issue and issue redemption operations.
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