The Bank of Thailand (BOT) made public on August 21 its project to issue a cryptocurrency backed by the institution itself called Inthanon.
The project is involving 8 of the largest commercial banks in Thailand, including Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Kasikorn Bank, among others.
Initially, the participating institutions will simultaneously design and develop the prototype of the blockchain for the transfer of money between the entities through a wholesale CBDC, built on the Corda platform of R3.
In this sense, the BOT elaborated :
"The Inthanon initiative will cover the design, development and testing of funds transfers between financial institutions through the use of a digital currency ... The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019"
In this sense, the BOT also noted that its project is similar to that of other central banks, as in the case of Canada, the Monetary Authority of Hong Kong and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
At the end of the first stage, the participating banks and R3 plan to expand the token's utility to include transfers of funds to third parties and cross-border payments.
On the other hand, many developments have taken place in the Thai cryptographic space since the country decided to adopt a friendly regulation for cryptocurrencies on July 16.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) has legalized seven cryptocurrencies and, at the time of writing, applications from companies wishing to operate these digital currencies in the country are being reviewed. According to the entity, around 50 ICO projects are interested in applying for a license, along with five ICO portals and 20 encryption exchanges.
For now, seven cryptographic companies have been granted a permit to operate legally in the country while the licensing process is in process. Other companies must obtain this same approval before beginning their activities to avoid inconveniences with the regulatory entity, which could fine them or force them to cancel their services if they do not comply with this or any other regulation. In addition, the central bank has subsidiaries of commercial banks with green light for cryptographic activities.
The good news is that this implies a broader approach to the total adoption of crypto, since as stated above, if all goes well, this token issued by the BOT will be available for third-party payments and cross-border operations.
Si otros bancos en el mundo siguen el ejemplo del BOT, estaremos más cerca de llegar a ese futuro tokenizado donde el dinero fiduciario y las criptomonedas circulen por igual.
Source: Bitcoin News