Thailand Trials Central Bank Digital Currency

Thailand’s central bank chief has confirmed research into a number of blockchain applications in banking including Project Inthanon involving a central bank digital currency used for interbank settlements.

During his speech at a financial summit in Singapore, on Tuesday, Bank of Thailand (BoT) governor Veerathai Santiprabhob highlighted a broad effort to research and trial blockchain technology in various financial applications including supply chain, bond issuance and letters of guarantee.

He mentioned that “another project in the pipeline” pertains to a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) based on blockchain technology.

The project, dubbed Project Inthanon, aims to develop the CBDC to enable faster and cheaper settlements between banks on the domestic interbanking system using the tokens.

BoT governor said “The Bank of Thailand and banks will co-develop a new way of conducting interbank settlement using wholesale central bank digital currency or CBDCs.”

The central bank chief insists that the authority will first explore the “potential and implications” of a central bank digital currency before any roadmap to put to wider use.

He also indicated that a proof-of-concept project involving bonds issued over a blockchain was nearly complete with production to begin in “the near future”. The solution is expected to “speed up saving bond allocation to retail investors from 15 days to 2 days”. A separate project sees the central bank exploring the decentralized innovation in supply chain finance.

The research and development effort stems from a working group that sees 14 Thai banks, the central bank and seven state-owned enterprises and corporate giants collaborate under the ‘Thailand Blockchain Community Initiative’.