The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) plans to launch a digital currency pilot program in the coming months.
According to Deputy Government SBP Sima Kamil, the SBP will go for the pilot launch of Pakistan’s first digital currency within two months after completing the necessary groundwork.
SBP plans to launch digital currency
According to her, the sandbox will be launched in a month or two in a controlled environment designed for limited and supervised testing of innovative products, services, or business models. The launch of the digital currency, according to Kamil, was part of their five-year strategy “SBP Vision 2028.”
Despite significant investor interest in digital tenders, the banking regulator has been hesitant to legalize digital currency within the country, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Pakcoin, OneCoin, and DasCoin, ultimately declaring them illegal.
The banking regulator, on the other hand, came up with the idea of introducing its own digital currency. CBDCs, according to the deputy governor of the SBP, are not the same as cryptocurrencies.
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are safer than cryptocurrencies and are intended to supplement existing physical cash and traditional forms of electronic money.
The currencies are based on blockchain technology (DLT) and are designed to provide a safe and efficient way to conduct digital transactions.
Central Bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are more secure compared to cryptocurrencies and are designed to complement existing physical cash and traditional forms of electronic money. The currencies are built on blockchain technology (DLT) and are intended to provide a secure and efficient means of conducting digital transactions.
CBDCs have so far been launched by a few countries, with other countries and central banks investigating them. According to the Atlantic Council CBDC tracker, only Nigeria, Jamaica, and the Bahamas have launched CBDCs, while China, India, Saudi Arabia, France, Ghana, Canada, and Uruguay have launched pilots.
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