(Bloomberg) — Malaysia is assessing the potential benefits of adopting a digital currency, the nation’s central bank said.
Bank Negara Malaysia “is actively assessing the value proposition of central bank digital currency (CBDC) to Malaysia,” it said in an emailed response to a query from Bloomberg. “While a decision has not been made to issue CBDC, we have focused our research on CBDC via proof-of-concept and experimentation to enhance our technical and policy capabilities, should the need to issue CBDC arise in the future.”
Malaysia in September last year joined forces with the Bank for International Settlements, Australia, Singapore and South Africa to test the use of central bank digital currencies for international settlements via a shared platform in a project dubbed Project Dunbar.
Read more: Central Bank Digital Currencies to Be Tested in BIS Experiment
Several countries, most notably China, have been testing the use of central bank-issued digital currencies as a way to make everything from interbank transfers to consumer purchases cheaper and more efficient. China is offering athletes and spectators the use of its digital yuan ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which starts next month.
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