The Chairman of the Bank of Thailand, Central Bank of the country, Mr. Veerathai Santiprabhob (Veerathai Santiprabhob) said that the organization plans to move from cash transactions with a private cryptocurrency, however, will happen not earlier than in 3-5 years.
The delay is due to the fact that the release of the Central Bank of digital currency, the so-called CBDC is not an easy task, and requires time-consuming due to the complexity of the monetary system. Santiprabhob noted that, despite the successful release of this cryptocurrency in some developed countries, in developing countries, which include Thailand, success to repeat is difficult enough: at least in the next half decade.
Recall that three months ago, the Bank of Thailand announced the beginning of developing a currency for wholesale, which could be used in interbank settlements. The project was called Inthanon. On the issue of cryptocurrencies for retailers, that is, one which could use the population of the country, while Bank details were not disclosed.
As previously reported, the Bank of Thailand used the blockchain Corda to create a prototype platform Inthanon for transfer of funds between local banks. The project involved eight commercial banks, and the completion of the first phase of the project scheduled for March of next year. The second phase involves the expansion of the scope and functions of the platform, in particular the addition of the cross-border transfer of funds, as well as third-party involvement in this process.
It seems that the statement of the Chairman of the Bank of Thailand’s response to the recent call for the head of the International monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde (Christine Lagarde) to study the possibility of issuing Central banks the official state of cryptocurrency. According to Lagarde, the CBDC are able to solve three public policy objectives: to increase the availability of financial services, improve consumer protection and to ensure the confidentiality of payments.
Lagarde also noted the shortcomings of crypto-currencies issued by Central banks. Such currencies pose a high risk to the financial integrity and stability, and can inhibit innovation. The latter is due to the fact that the Central Bank, offering all types of cryptocurrency services, eliminate any competitors in the field.
However, according to the head of the IMF, this problem will be solved if the Central banks will cooperate in the management of the money with other banks and financial institutions. In addition, the area of operation of the Central banks should be limited to internal calculations, and the interaction with customers and innovation must be put into the hands of the partners.
