Japanese software developer Soramitsu said the Bank of the Lao PDR Payment Systems Department would launch a proof of concept central bank digital currency (CBDC) tomorrow. The Lao central bank first inked a deal for CBDC research with Soramitsu in late 2021.
Soramitsu was responsible for developing Project Bakong, the blockchain-based payment system deployed by Cambodia’s central bank, which has been referred to as a CBDC system, but strictly speaking isn’t. That’s because the digital money represents tokenized commercial bank deposits of either Cambodian riel or US dollars. Launched in 2020, Project Bakong uses Hyperledger Iroha, a blockchain system originally developed by Soramitsu. The software company is also doing CBDC research with the Philippines, Vietnam and Fiji.
The Lao CBDC proof of concept (PoC), referred to as DLak (Digital Lao Kip), will start tomorrow, and research work is continuing with the aim of launching a production CBDC based on the PoC. The solution uses a customized version of the Project Bakong software.
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