Kyrgyzstan is moving forward with its national cryptocurrency strategy, launching a stablecoin and preparing for the public sector rollout of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
The new stablecoin, presumably KGST, is pegged 1:1 to the national currency, the Kyrgyz Som, and is registered in the national register of digital assets. It differs from USDKG, a dollar-backed stablecoin backed by $500 million in gold reserves from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance, scheduled to launch in the third quarter.
At the same time, the country’s CBDC, digital som, is now legally recognized and is expected to be tested for government-related payments, CZ added.
This follows a decision in April by President Sadyr Japarov to change the country’s constitutional law, giving the digital som legal tender status if it is fully launched by the National Bank.
Kyrgyzstan is also in the process of establishing a broader crypto infrastructure. It created a national cryptocurrency reserve that includes BNB, launched training for law enforcement, and signed up the Binance Academy to partner with 10 universities.
Binance also localized its app into Kyrgyz and hosted a 1,000-person meetup in the capital, Bishkek, Zhao noted.
Sign, in which CZ’s family fund YZi Labs is an investor, is also working with the Kyrgyz government on smart contract infrastructure, he added.
